How not to Keep a Secret Identity Secret
by Livinglittlelie
Summary: Keeping a superhero life hidden while attending to class and having a normal relationship with their friends and family wasn't easy, but Marinette and Adrien had managed so far. But as careful as someone might be, there were always tiny details that escaped from their control, and someone who knew them as well as their partner were sure to pick up someday. Adrinette/Ladynoir
1. The sewing kit

**So… I fell in the bottomless pit that is the Miraculous fandom two weeks ago, and I couldn't stop myself from writing a one-shot about these two dorks (totally avoiding other fics that need their writing)**

 **This'll be a series of independent one-shots (I guess) of many ways they could find out who they are. I'll update it whenever I feel like it (sorry, this fic is just for the lolz) and I accept requests.**

 **Any typos you notice, tell me (English's not my mother language, although I do my best), and I hope you like the story!**

* * *

 **Ch. 1. The sewing kit**

Marinette always carried a sewing kit with herself – it was a perk of wanting to be a designer, she supposed. It wouldn't be the first time her jacket ripped or a button got loose, and she couldn't stop her urge to fix it with thin threads and a silver needle until you could no longer see the flaw. After being stuck with that unwanted feeling too many times, it was a natural step to take.

The tiny pink case was tucked safely inside her purse, beside Tikki's bed, and inside she had everything she would need, from stitching up tiny holes to even make a simple dress if she had the fabric.

Few people knew she carried the sewing kit with herself. Alya was the first to find out, and she had suffered her wrath several times. There were times when she had been so caught up with her desire to get a footage of the favourite heroes of Paris that she hadn't noticed her shirt had stuck with a branch, making a hole in the fabric, or there was a steel grid on her way, and had made a mess of herself.

And boy, wasn't she scary when she found out. She scolded her all the time it took to fix the rip – not that it was _that_ big to begin with, Marinette, you're exaggerating – and then some more, fumbling that she ought to take better care of her clothes, etcetera. It always ended with Alya promising her she would be more careful, not that she really meant it or Marinette believed it, but both of them let it go.

The other one who knew was Nino, and he would've preferred not to. One day he'd invited Alya and Marinette to watch him do a sick trick with his skate he'd learned not long ago, but he lost his footing and fell on his knees, scraping them and tearing his pants. Marinette hurried to where he'd fallen and he tried – with an embarrassed blush he was really trying to conceal – to reassure her he was fine, when he discovered that what had the girl's fixation wasn't his red knees but his torn pants.

And he learned a lesson the hard way: no matter what you do, don't, and I repeat, _don't_ try to stop her from fixing your clothes. Because when he'd tried, Marinette threw him a hard look – she _growled!_ – and when he squirmed, trying to stand up, she grabbed him from his jeans and almost _undressed_ him.

He would never forget the scary face she wore until she fixed it, quickly regaining her sweet façade of the calm and shy girl. And Alya, much to his horror, would never forget his girly squeals, as she called them teasingly – but he didn't squeal, he was a man, goddamn it – he made while trying to escape from the evil grip of the stronger-than-she-looked girl.

However, it had been months since she had had to use her sewing set on anyone. But that changed one rainy morning of March, when none other than Adrien Agreste came to class with a loose button.

It hadn't been his fault to begin with. It was just that Plagg had taken a fixation of chewing his shirt buttons' inner stitching when he was hiding. Sure, he understood he must be bored his mind out half of the day, but it didn't mean he had to make him pay for it with his clothes. He had already ruined four shirts, and he was running out of excuses to explain to Natalie why he needed yet another one.

Because of his bad luck, in the car that morning Plagg had a field day, and one of the buttons was hanging dangerously without he even noticing.

When Marinette saw him first at class, she turned into the usual blabbering mess everyone was used to, but her designer eye soon found the imperfection and her face fell into a poker mask, making the boy cock his head in confusion.

Alya, who knew her friend too well, muttered under her breath something that sounded like an "Oh, no…", and Nino paled considerably, something that confused him. What was going on? Marinette was just rummaging inside her purse, so what was with the long fac-

The blue haired girl yanked him towards her rather forcefully, making him yelp, and he stared down at her too close face with wide eyes.

"Wh-what…?" he tried to ask, but she grabbed a fist of his white shirt and almost took it out from him, making him yelp once again. Nino made rushed signals behind her, telling him silently not to make a _single_ move or so. What happened if he did, he didn't know.

And he wasn't really sure he wanted to find out.

Without loosening her grip on him, she opened the pink case she'd taken out seconds before and opened it with precision, letting him see its contents. There were some tiny reels of several colours, and needles of different sizes.

With one hand, she caught the white reel and a tiny needle, threaded it – quite expertly, if he had a say on it – and returned her focused eyes to the loose button, first removing the broken string that was left and then replacing it with white threads with a trained hand, quickly fixing his shirt.

She gave a content hum when she finished and checked the other buttons, making sure they were good to go. When she was satisfied, she patted the cloth slightly on his chest, straightening it absentmindedly when she raised her eyes. And saw the flushed face of Adrien looking back at her, eyes still wide and their noses almost touching.

"Gah!" She exclaimed, tumbling backwards. What the hell had she done?

Alya, who had been strangely silent, laughed and threw her arm on the suddenly too flustered girl. "Way to go, girl! Yet another person suffering Marinette's sewing wrath!"

"I-I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me." She stuttered looking at the blond, who recomposed quickly and looked down at his shirt.

"Wow Marinette! It's perfect." He beamed at her, what made her widen her eyes and blush furiously "I didn't notice the button was loose, thank you."

She seemed to calm down, and smiled happily at him, nodding in response. Nino chose this moment to sit down on his place and sighed. "Dude, you were lucky it was just a button. One time Marinette almost ripped my pants off because of a little tear."

"Yeah, and you wailed like a little girl in the process." Alya quipped

"I most certainly didn't!" Nino shouted, falling once again in a playful banter

Marinette ignored their best friends banter, in the process to place the reel and the needle back at their places, putting the kit inside her purse once again contently.

Adrien couldn't help to smile to himself. He couldn't have imagined she held this passion for her sewing. Sure, he knew she liked to design clothes on her free time and she had won that contest his father held, but she felt it with so much intensity he had been amazed.

He realised he didn't know much about the kind girl, and some part of him – the most playful and straight-forward, the one he associated with Chat Noir – craved to learn more about her. Who knew how many sides of her he hadn't seen yet?

Oh, he wanted to discover them all.

* * *

It had been a week from the 'Sewing incident', and Ladybug and Chat Noir were running from an Akuma throwing knives at them. He had been a butcher but had lost his shop because he couldn't pay the rent, hence the possession. And god, wasn't he annoying.

They lead him to the top of a roof, trying to make some space between them and the civilians in order to protect them from a stray attack, and when they were sure they were alone, they confronted the Akuma.

He swung his knife with confidence, chanting thins like "I'm gonna skin you!" or "I'll chop those superhero arms off your body!", and even with their enhanced resistance, the repetitive attacks were taking a toll on both of them.

It was then when Ladybug hesitated. Her yoyo slowed down, and the Butcher took that chance to step forward and try to slice her. And he would've succeeded, if it hadn't been for Chat Noir.

He rushed forward wielding his staff like a sword and intercepted the knife successfully, the loud clashing sound echoing in the night. The Butcher, however, didn't lose his resolve and stroke forward again, making Chat jump back in surprise, nearly avoiding getting his head chopped off but wincing in pain, as the knife got his arm instead and cut a deep wound.

"Chat!" Ladybug cried

Before the Butcher could attack again she threw her yoyo forward, hitting him in the face and making him stumble back a bit, enough for her to lunge forward and grab his hat, the item that had been possessed. He passed out at the same time she ripped off the cotton fabric, and she captured the Akuma without her usual cheerfulness, her eyes fixed on her bleeding companion.

As soon as she called her Miraculous Cure, she rushed to where he was slumped, searching frantically for the wound.

"My lady, I didn't know you were that worried about my wellbeing. It's really cute." He teased her

She glared at him "It's no time to joke around, Chat. Show me your arm."

He shrugged and did as she asked. The leather was torn and a bit dirty, but white skin and a thin pink mark was the only thing that could be seen under it.

"It's no big deal. It was just a scratch, and your superpowers kissed it better."

She huffed exasperated and ran her fingers on the still sensitive skin "Silly kitty, don't ever do that again, you hear me? I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"But it's my duty to protect you, bugaboo! Now, if I received my thank you kiss it would be purr-fect." He teased and leaned forward. She just smacked him in his face and pushed him away with a roll of her eyes.

She then looked once again to the wrecked suit, and the designer in her cried of despair. She couldn't leave it like this, her desire to fix the sturdy leather stronger than her need to keep every detail of her civilian life a secret, and she sighed in defeat.

Chat Noir, oblivious to her inner fight, stood up when his ring beeped once. He had five minutes before his transformation dropped. Ladybug's earrings echoed his warning.

"Well, my Lady, it seems that our time runs short yet again. It's time for this cat to go home. _Au revoir._ "

"Wait!" She stopped him when he was about to jump off the building. He turned his head to look questioningly at her "It'll be just a minute."

To his surprise, she opened the yoyo hanging on her hip and began rummaging inside it.

"What, apart from being a weapon, a phone and an Akuma cleansing tool, this yoyo is a transdimensional purse too?"

Ladybug looked at him playfully and grinned. "Well kitty, you have a bell and a staff; I have a bigger on the inside weapon. It came with the whole superhero package."

Chat grinned saucily. "Someone watches her Doctor Who."

"I like the show." She shrugged her shoulders and muttered a 'Gotcha' soon afterward, taking out a too familiar pink case and opening it with ease, letting him look at the inside.

There were some too familiar reels, and four too familiar silver needles. She threaded the biggest one expertly and grabbed Chat's arm, not noticing the wide eyes on his face, and began sewing the sturdy fabric.

He looked at her silently looking intently as her tongue got caught between her teeth and her eyes gazed down in concentration, her hand magically fixing the ugly tear until the suit was as good as new. She then checked it for imperfections, and gave a too familiar content hum when she finished.

"There you are! As good as new." She released his arm, but he didn't make an attempt to remove it from her hands. In fact, he didn't say anything about it. "What, cat got your tongue?" she teased, but he didn't respond, worrying her slightly. She placed a hand on his shoulder "Chat, what's wrong?"

The action snapped Chat from his thinking and looked back at her, his eyes focused on her midnight hair, her deep blue eyes, and the soft freckles that escaped from under the confinement of the mask. She fidgeted nervously under his strong gaze, until the urgent beeping of their miraculous interrupted them.

"Oh, I-I have to go!" He exclaimed suddenly, stepping backwards "Bye!"

He leaped forward and jumped off the building, making her lose sight of him in mere seconds.

She put the sewing kit inside her yoyo and sighed. What was wrong with him? He was always the one suggesting to detransform together to discovered each other identities, so why was he running away today? And the way he was looking at her, almost as if…

Nah, she was probably overthinking it. Grabbing her faithful weapon, she swung off the rooftops of Paris until she arrived to the balcony of one certain bakery. She dropped her transformation before she went inside her room.

And all that time she was ignorant of a certain stray cat following her.

* * *

Adrien Agreste was stupid. Scratch that, he was more than stupid.

He paced inside his room muttering for himself, Plagg looking at him from where he was eating his camembert cheese. His usually styled hair was wild from him running his fingers through it repeatedly, making him look more like Chat than Adrien at the moment.

Plagg's patience was starting to run thin "What the hell is wrong with you now, boy? You're making me dizzy with all your pacing in circles."

"How could I be so stupid, Plagg? The signs were all there! How could I not see that Marinette…" He waved his hands, lost for words.

"… was Ladybug?" the blond boy nodded "I told you before, kid. It's the magic of the suit; it alters one's perception so you won't discover who the one behind the mask is."

"And how can I see it now? I-I see it when I look at the Ladyblog's pictures. Heck, I even see it every time I close my eyes."

The kwami shrugged "There's a difference between before and now, and that's that you are certain who she is. No perception filter is _that_ strong."

"Gah!" He threw himself to his bead and covered his eyes with his left arm, the one Ladybu- _Marinette_ had clutched to fix his suit hours ago. "How am I supposed to look at her tomorrow? She didn't want us to know our civilian forms, and I had to go and figure out didn't I? Not only that, but I also followed her like... like a…"

"A stalker?" Plagg aided, licking his paws.

Adrien uncovered his eyes to glare at the cat. "Plagg, you're not helping."

"What do you want me to say?" He threw his paws at the air in exasperation. "The only fact is that you know who she is and she doesn't, so there are two only possible outcomes. One, you tell her that you know and let her shout at you or whatever for figuring out; or two, you shut up and wait for her to be ready to tell you for herself. Pick the choice you want."

"God, she'll be really mad at me. She'll hate me for it."

"I doubt it. The girl's head over heels for you." Plagg mumbled, too low for him to hear. "Look," He said louder. "Whatever happens tomorrow won't change, even if you obsess about it like a mad man. Go to bed and _sleep_ ; you'll get in trouble if you look like a zombie tomorrow."

The boy paid him no mind and the kwami sighed. What had he done to be always stuck with the sappy ones? Well, he was the bringer of the bad luck, after all.

Floating, he went and turned off the lights, as his human hadn't made a move from his brooding position in the last five minutes, and he went to his bed, prying that the boy made up his mind and made a move on his bug, stopping his mopping for her. He already knew her identity, so it was a matter of time, right?

It wasn't.

The day after Adrien was a walking zombie. He stumbled and knocked out whatever was in his way, too distracted to notice it altogether, making Natalie frown at him. However, she allowed him to go to class – a horrible mistake, if Plagg had a say on it – and on the ride to his school, he kept on gazing outside the window.

Plagg tried to get his attention and talk him out of his stupor, but the boy didn't notice his ministrations or ignored them in purpose. He noticed him stiffen under him, and when he looked outside, he saw they had just passed the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

And then at class it didn't get better, oh no. Thankfully, Marinette hadn't arrived yet when they did, but he felt him getting stiff once again when the girl went in five minutes late – really, how many times could she come in late without earning a scolding? – and he followed her with his lingering gaze like a kicked puppy, only to turn to look at his knees when she looked at his direction.

Oh, this wasn't going well. Knowing him – and god, he did know him – he would get rigid and red every time he saw the girl, and he would end up doing something that would embarrass him. Then, he would have to listen to him brooding, and moping and brooding some more for being so stupid or whatever.

It had to stop, even if he had to intervene. But how to get both of them actually talking alone, and _to themselves_? Because if it was difficult for his boy now, it was even more difficult for the girl, as she seemed to lose all coherent thought when she was in front of him. The only time she was all confident in front of him was when she was Ladybug and when she sew that button the day before…

An imaginary lightbulb lightened up inside his head and he had to cover his mouth with his paws to cover his triumphant cry. The button! If he loosened a button again, she would stop to fix it, then they would talk to each other, then everything would get fixed! Oh boy, he was a genius. He deserved a whole wheel of Camembert all for himself.

So he did just that. He bit and munched the stitching of the button like a hyperactive hamster and watched smugly as the button got loose again twenty minutes before their lunch break started. Adrien didn't even notice.

The bell signalling for the end of the classes rang, and every student made their way outside. Adrien picked up his things robotically slower than usual, his head on the clouds, so Marinette finished before him. She threw him a glance from the corner of her eye and stopped suddenly, looking intently at Adrien's loose button.

Alya, noticing Marinette's behaviour, chuckled and grabbed Nino from the elbow. "Let's go to have something to eat; the kids have other matters in hand."

"Wait what?" He then noticed the still daydreaming boy and at the frozen girl. "Ooh I get you. We're going! See ya later, dude!"

The pair left giggling, not that any of them noticed.

Marinette lurched forward and grabbed his shirt yet again, not hearing his startled squeak. How come the button had undid so quickly? She had just fixed it the week before, it shouldn't be loosening up already! She grabbed it with her two hands, determined to find what she had made wrong before and fix it for good this time, when she felt something biting her.

She screeched and stumbled backwards, a black figure stuck on her finger. And god, it bit hard.

"Plagg!" Adrien shouted at him, snapping out of his reverie of her soft hands touching him and... _Adrien, stop it._ Returning to the main issue, what the hell was he doing!?

She stopped shaking her hand to look better at the still hanging figure. The creature blinked back at her with startling green eyes, he shook his tail, and after some seconds, he opened his mouth to release her finger. It had two tiny puncture wounds, and she resisted the urge to lick it.

"What was that for?" She exclaimed, glaring at the cat kwami.

"That was for grabbing me so forcefully, woman. What do you think I am, a plush you can constrict whatever you want? Did Tikki teach you that? It hurt like hell!"

She put her arms ajar, glaring at him. "Leave Tikki out of this! She's done nothing wrong! I didn't know you were hiding… in…"

Suddenly the situation dawned on her and she looked at the blond boy, who had been awfully quiet. He was looking at her intensely, as if he was cataloguing every detail of her, like…

Like Chat Noir the night before.

And that's when everything clicked. Every tiny similarity between them, those green eyes that twinkled in excitement, and the way his gleeful smile brightened up all his face. God, his _bloody kwami_ floating in front of her should be prove enough.

"Chat…?" She whispered at him because she still couldn't wrap her mind around it. Because it was too good to be true.

Without dropping that intense gaze that made her weak on her knees, he grabbed her hand and kissed it, his eyes never leaving hers. "Hello, Princess. Or should I say my Lady?"

He then grinned saucily at her, and she could swear she saw the black ears on his head and the mask on his face.

"How did you know…?" She asked, breathless.

"The sewing kit. It was the same one that you used to fix the button the other time."

Her eyes widened. "Oh god, I'm so stupid. I should've known."

"Not your fault. It was me who almost got himself skinned. Do you think he would've sold kitten meat at his shop?"

She hit him in the arm, hissing. "Don't ever joke about that! I'm still mad at you for getting in the way, you know?"

"I know." He sobered up again, making her shiver. "But as I told you yesterday, it's my duty to protect you from everything. You're more important that this stray cat."

"Don't say that." She pleaded, placing a hand on his cheek. "What would I do without you? We're a team, Chat."

"You would be as amazing as always."

She shook her head and smiled warmly at him. "No, I wouldn't. I need my silly kitty beside me."

He fidgeted on his feet, adverting his gaze to the floor. "Are you mad at me? You know, for finding out."

"No, it isn't your fault to begin with. It wasn't what I initially wanted, yes, but I can't find myself regretting how it turned out in the end."

"Glad to see that behind that a _meow_ zing and sexy superhero was this hot stuff?" He joked with a flirty smile.

She groaned and rolled her eyes, dropping the hand on his cheek. "Not the puns! Anything but the puns!"

"You love them." He grinned at her. She looked back at him, trying with all her might not to smile in return and failing.

"Come on, Adrien, let's go. I don't know you, but I'm starving. I had this thing yesterday night and I ended up sleeping in, so I skipped breakfast."

She began walking towards the door, but he grabbed her hand to stop her. She looked back at him questioningly, and her breath caught in her throat at the look he was giving her yet again. God, if he kept doing things like that she was going to have a heart attack.

"One more thing before we go." He tugged her hand so she stood before him, and now he was the one who cupped her face with his hands, caressing her reddening cheeks absentmindedly with his thumbs. He had to say it before he lost his confidence, before they fell into their playful banter and never touched the subject again. He couldn't risk it.

"What is it?" she asked out of breath.

Her mind was a broken record of the words _oh my god it's Adrien and Chat and he's holding me so close and oh my god,_ and her heart was about to burst out of her chest. The day had been a train wreck, but nothing, and it meant literally nothing, could have prepared her for what came next.

"I love you. Always have. Always will."

And he did. It was when he found out that Marinette was Ladybug the night before when he noticed that his heart was beating faster than before, and he couldn't get her out of his head. It was as if his hero crush was suddenly… more.

He understood now what moved Ladybug, the way she fought for what she believed was right either in his civilian or superhero form. Ladybug stood for what she really was but was too shy to express, just like Chat Noir was to him, and he couldn't help but to fall harder for her. The way her eyes filled with warmth every time he spoke to her – once again, either in his civilian or leather-wearing form – her teasing smile, her adorable reddening cheeks… god it was too much for him.

"… Y-you mean it?" She asked uncertain, biting her lip.

 _Would it be too soon if it's me who bites her lip instead?_ "I do." He answered with conviction

"But who of us do you l-love? The amazing and beautiful Ladybug or old plain Marinette?"

"Both." Her eyes widened at his simple response. "Both are part of who you are, and I love every bit. I want to know every part of you; what makes you laugh, what makes you cry, how you see the world and what makes you keep moving when everything seems awry. Is that alright?"

She nodded repeatedly, her eyes filling up with tears. She gave him a watery smile and he rested his forehead in hers, smiling content.

"Adrien. Chat. I love you too. Both of you."

He couldn't believe his heart could beat faster, but heck, it was. And there she was, looking at him with those big blue eyes and those soft pink cheeks covered with freckles and, oh god, he wanted to devour her. He leaned in, trying to capture her lips with his and she followed, and when they were about to touch someone coughing interrupted them.

"Not that I enjoy that both of you got your sappy love story, but could we go somewhere where I could puke? You guys are disgustingly sweet."

Adrien growled and glared at his kwami. "Plagg, _shut up._ Can't you read the mood?"

"Oh yeah, I do it just fine. That's why I don't want to see it. Couldn't you wait for me to be out of the room?"

"Then, if it is so revolting for you, go away."

" _I can't._ We're still at school and someone might see me."

He huffed and dropped his hands of her face in exasperation. "Then what do you want us to do?"

"Stop the kissy faces for once. And secondly, bug girl, could you free Tikki from inside your purse? I think that if she keeps pushing, she'll make a hole on the fabric."

"Oh, yeah!" She unclasped her purse and a red dot flew out of it, stopping at Adrien's face. She had black dots on her body and big blue eyes, and giggled when he saw him

"Hi, Chat. Nice to finally meet you." She waved a hand.

"The pleasure's mine." He smiled back, then looked at Marinette "See, you got the nice kwami and I got the rude one. My luck sure is bad."

"Hmm I don't know." She teased him. "I can't picture you wearing a red polka-dotted suit from head to toe. Maybe it's for Paris' sake."

They both headed to the door in order to leave the room. She grabbed his hand hesitantly and he intertwined their fingers, a soft smile on his face.

"I tell you what, it would fit me just nice, thank you very much. You, on the other hand, would look _paw_ tastic in my tight suit." She rolled her eyes, but a soft smile adorned her face. "But my point still stands! He interrupted our first kiss! Who does that?"

"Actually… it's not our first kiss. And if Tikki had been out she would've squealed so high that our eardrums would've popped."

"Wait, what?" _Not our first kiss?_

"Yeah, really. You didn't hear her when I bought her a chocolate muffin for the first time. I swear even my neighbours did hear her."

He stopped her. "No, not _that._ What do you mean it isn't our first kiss?"

She looked at him confused, then her eyes widened in realisation. "Oh, right, you don't remember. It was during the Dark Cupid attack, when you intercepted the arrow for me – something you totally need to stop doing. You were about to use your Cataclysm on me and I ran out of options, so I-I kissed you. I'm glad it worked, to be honest."

He hummed. "Mm that's not fair, that you remember and I don't. Should fix it, shouldn't I?"

And without a warning, he spun her and cornered her between him and the locker, and captured her lips with his. When she gasped, he took his chance to bite that lip of hers that had distracted him before, taking his time to explore every inch of her mouth that he could.

She recovered from her surprise rather quickly and let her hands wander upwards, tugging lightly at his soft locks and _god it felt so right please don't stop._

He ignored Plagg's disgusted cries of 'Gross!' and when they took apart he drank her dazed expression, making him chuckle. A part of him worried that they should hide their kwamis before someone saw them, but the biggest part (who was occupied watching the beautiful girl gasping for air in front of him) argued that the school had been deserted for fifteen minutes already.

"You okay, Princess?" He nuzzled her jaw with his nose.

"A-A warning… would be nice. Next time." She panted.

"Oh. Okay. Then, I'm going to kiss you again. Now."

She placed her hand on his nape to urge him down and he leaned in again, when Tikki called for them. "Marinette! Alya's coming!"

She cursed and grabbed the red kwami, quickly hiding her inside her purse. Adrien did the same and tucked Plagg inside his shirt, muffling his protests.

"God, guys." Alya puffed when she noticed them "What's taking you so long? And…" She stopped when she saw their faces. Something was going on. She looked down at the now gone button and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you fix his button this time?"

"I-I ran out of white thread, and then A-Adrien lost it. We were looking for it until now. Right?"

"Yep. Don't know where it could've been."

Alya looked at the floor. "It's on your feet, Mari."

Both of them looked down and faked a gasp. "Look at that! I must have been stepping on it. That's why we couldn't find it."

"After we looked for it so long…" He grinned at her.

"Yep. Well, I'll better go, I'm famished. Moreover, I have to feed this… stray cat that is coming to my room in… an hour? Yeah, an hour. Can't make him wait. Well, Adrien, I'm so sorry I couldn't fix your button."

"It's no problem." He nodded, keeping a neutral face.

"Bye Alya, bye Adrein! See you later!" The girl shouted behind her back as she rushed to the exit.

"What's wrong with her?" The future journalist asked, and he shrugged in reply. After a quick goodbye, he too rushed to the limousine, strangely eager to get home.

Moreover, an hour later a black cat did visit Marinette in her room.


	2. The rain

**For the amazing response this had last week, here I bring another One shot. Enjoy!**

 **Ch. 2. The rain**

It was a quiet night in Paris. The city of light glowed with its usual brilliance, but the streets were mostly silent. It was two AM, and rain began falling softly in the empty streets, refreshing the warm air of May.

Ladybug was standing on the ledge of a roof, letting the rain hit her face. It felt good to let the cold droplets caress her heated skin, due to the extra energy she'd used patrolling the city. She smiled at the skies and closed her damp eyes, letting the soft sounds of the rain engulf her.

It gave her the peace she was yearning for. She usually felt like she was rushing through life, dealing with a double life and trying with all her might not to merge the two of them together, so it felt good to stop for a while and think about nothing. Leaving behind the school projects, the social anxiety, the responsibility of being one of the defenders of her beloved city.

Right at that instant, she was just Marinette enjoying the rain.

And that's how Chat Noir found her – her arms extended on both sides of her and her face looking upwards, her eyes closed and with a content smile on her face, a smile he had never seen before. It was warm, comforting, and he would lose it if that smile was directed at him someday.

The sight almost made him forget his discomfort for being all wet and cold. Almost.

You see, Adrien had never liked the rain, long before he became a cat. He hadn't been one child to play out in the rain, jumping from puddle to puddle and getting dirty with mud – well, he hadn't been a child who played out, full stop.

Moreover, whenever he got caught under a storm he got scolded by his father, demanding him to be more mindful of the exterior image he gave to the others. He assumed it was normal to hate it whenever it rained; it meant bad news for him.

The feeling only accentuated once he became Chat Noir. Wielding the Miraculous had given him some extra traits in both his civilian and superhero life; better agility and reflexes, a better night sight (even when he was only Adrien), among other cat traits. Being wary – it wasn't fear, he swore – of the rain happened to be one of them.

Now that he thought of it, there was only one time before when he'd felt joy being stuck in the rain, and that was when he gave Marinette his umbrella, a day after going to school for the first time. It had been his way to explain himself, to assure her that he wasn't like Chloe. It'd been the day they became friends, and he treasured the memory greatly.

And it seemed that exact instant in the dark roof would soon become another one of his treasured memories; but despite giving him the opportunity to see Ladybug that peaceful, the rain didn't stop falling on him, freezing him to the bone. Stupid rain.

He grumbled as he made his way to the part of the building covered with the cornice, giving him enough space to sit without getting more wet, if it was possible. He was soaked from head to toe, he noted shivering, and he rubbed his arms with his hands to warm them up.

Ladybug turned her head, watching in amusement how Chat tried to get comfortable in the only dry spot of the roof they were both standing, his face scowling when he saw his entire body was drippling with water. He was way too cute sometimes.

"Afraid of harmless rain, Kitty?" she teased him, walking slowly towards his direction and sitting beside him.

"I don't like being wet." He grumbled, trying to avoid getting his wet hair stuck to his forehead. "You seem to like it, though."

She hummed and untied her hair, running her fingers through her wet bangs. "Yeah, it calms me. I liked the rain long before I became Ladybug, but now I seem to adore it. Must be because of the Miraculous; it means the plants get their needed water."

He shot her an amused look. "You like to make plants grow?"

"God, it's almost an obsession!" She laughed. "You should see my balcony; it's full of pottery and plants."

"Well, I would like to see your balcony very much, My Lady. Or your room, for the matter." He wiggled his eyebrows.

She huffed exasperated, but smiled afterwards, still running her fingers through her hair. The rain had left her in a too good of a mood to care about Chat's ministrations. It seemed it was the contrary for him, as he soon lost his easy-going smile and glared at his trickling hair, which kept on sticking to his forehead. Sick of it, he shook his head from side to side, trying to get out as much water as possible.

"Chat! Stop!" She cackled, shooting her extended hands up between them in defence, and trying to stop the tiny drops from hitting her. " _Stop!_ Why are you shaking so much? You're a cat, not a dog."

"I don't like rain." He groaned, his hair standing out wilder than he wore it normally. Her laughter fell and a soft smile replaced it.

"Wait, I've got just the thing." She took out of a hidden hole a plastic bag, and she handed him the light pink towel that was inside. "Here you are. You seem to need it more than I do."

His eyes brightened when he saw the dry cloth and stood up suddenly, grabbing the hand that was holding the towel and kissing her knuckles. "Thank you very much, My Lady. You just saved this stray cat."

She rolled her eyes and watched him cover his head with the towel, rubbing furiously his head and trying to get it as dry as possible. She giggled when his head poked out of the feminine cloth, his hair standing in all directions. He proceeded to dry his costume a bit, grinning at her.

"This towel's _purr_ fect. How come you have it here?"

"It's not the first time we've been stuck in the rain during patrol, _Chaton_ , and despite liking getting wet, I'm not fond of drying my room at 3 AM. One day I brought the towel, and I've use it once or twice since then."

"You're a godsend, you know that?" He rubbed his damp face on the soft cloth, marvelling at the fluffiness of it. "Or should I say _purr_ etty _claw_ some?"

She groaned. "Two in a row? That's it. You've lost your towel privileges."

"What! No! You'll have to _cat_ ch _meow_ first, Bugaboo."

"Arg, stop!"

And they played catch for thirty minutes, Chat trying with all his might to protect his prized towel while avoiding the rain, and Ladybug trying to tackle him to the rain just to making him grumpy again. Their laughter echoed the long since quiet streets of Paris, and lasted long after they parted ways.

* * *

It was Saturday morning and Marinette was really excited. Alya and she had made plans with Nino and Adrien to spend the day at the park, firstly having a picnic and then just hanging around, making one of the fantasies that plagued her mind from time to time come true.

She was the one that had to bring the dessert, and she spent all the afternoon of the day before making macarons of different colours and flavours. She even decorated some of them with cat and bug themes, remembering the fun she had the night before with Chat Noir. Maybe they could hang out some more before the rain stopped…?

Marinette shook her head. It wasn't the time to think about the silly cat – she had something important to do. Grabbing a self-made cloth bag, she placed carefully the box of macarons inside, and made some space for her purse and Tikki's bed, making sure she was well hidden.

Checking out she didn't forget anything, she stepped out of the bakery. Dark clouds greeted her, and she couldn't stop the content smile from forming on her face.

"Marinette, it's too bad. It's gonna rain and your picnic will be ruined." Tikki whispered from her bag.

She hummed. "I don't know, Tikki. It doesn't seem it's going to rain in at least two hours or so, so there's plenty of time to have a picnic, don't you think?"

"You just say that because you love it when it rains." The Kwami giggled, covering her mouth with her red paws.

"What can I say? I'm a Ladybug at heart." She teased and her eyes blinked with joy.

She was about to go, but she remembered something. Rushing inside, she grabbed her light pink towel, already dry, and placed it inside the bag. Who knew if they'd going to need it.

She made her way towards the park, an excited smile on her face. She stopped at Alya's house, which was near the park they'd all met, and wrote her a message telling her she had arrived. Some minutes later, the journalist-to-be girl stepped out, a willow basket in her hands.

"Hi, girl! You're surprisingly early!" she greeted her friend

"Hi Alya. I know, but how couldn't I?"

She glanced at her, amused. "I know. It took _ages_ for Adrien to have a free day. What is he, a fashion slave or something?"

"Y-yeah." She stuttered at the mention of the model. "It's just – his father keeps on signing him to all those photoshoots and publicity campaigns. It's ridiculous."

"You say it, girl. Although," she glanced at the sky worriedly "I don't know if it's a good idea to meet with this time. It looks it's about to rain."

"Don't be silly!" Marinette pushed her forwards slightly, making her advance to the park "It's not gonna rain in at least two hours. The clouds are not dark enough, and the wind is blowing. It won't rain until the wind stops."

"Look at you, Marinette the weather girl." She hit her playfully in the shoulder "You should've applied to that contest that took place not long ago. You would've totally given that Mirelle Caquet a run for her money."

She winced. "I'm not very good with people, much less an audience."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm just saying you'd had a chance for winning it. I mean, you've got the looks and the weather knowledge. Look!" She pointed to the entrance of the park, where two figures could be seen standing together. "There they are! It seems everyone's punctual today, even Adrien."

"Eep!" She shrieked, suddenly nervous.

They made their way to the park's entrance, the pigtailed girl trying to calm herself. _Deep breaths, Marinette. Keep your cool. Don't make a fool of yourself._

"Hey girls! What's up?" Nino saluted them when they reached them.

"Hello." Adrien smiled gently at both of them, making Marinette's blush deepen. "I brought the drinks."

"Cool!" Alya exclaimed, then looked sideways to the other boy, raising an eyebrow. "… Nino?"

"I brought the chips! Geez, dude, the lack of trust wounds me."

"Last time you were the one responsible of the food and totally forgot about it. We had to go to buy a pizza."

"And it was the best pizza I ate in my life. But," He hesitated, looking at the sky. "Adrien and I were wondering if we should meet another day, after all. It looks like it's gonna rain."

"Don't worry about it!" Alya said, placing one hand on Marinette's shoulder, making her jump "Marinette happens to be a weather expert, and she's predicted we've got more or less two hours until the rain comes."

Adrien looked at her with curiosity. "Is that true?"

"W-well. I-I wouldn't call myself an expert. M-Manon's mother has taught me some things about weather, that's all."

"That's so cool, dude!" Nino exclaimed, patting her head. "Next time you can apply for that weather contest or whatever. I'll vote for you!"

Alya noted the reddening face of her best friend under the undivided attention of both guys, and decided to step in to give her a break she very much needed. "Guys! Let's go have this picnic before it's too late, and when it starts raining we can crash at my place."

They nodded and made their way to the park, picking up a free spot – something not very difficult to begin with, as the park was almost deserted. Alya took an old blanket out of her basket and extended it on the grass so the four teens could sit on it. When they were all comfortable, she began taking out food from the basket – just how big was that thing? – and they began eating, chatting animatedly.

Marinette was shy at first, but as she spent time with her friends, she began loosening up, more so when Adrien felt comfortable enough to crack up some awful jokes.

The food soon disappeared and Alya was lying on the blanket, her stomach full, as Nino and Adrien made a competition of who could capture more chips with their mouth without falling to the floor, Marinette keeping count. And Adrien was making Nino bite the dust.

She was laughing when she felt it. The wind stopped blowing suddenly, staying still in a warning to those that could understand it. Marinette sobered up and looked up, noticing what she already suspected – dark clouds were hovering on top of them, threatening to start the downpour when they least expected it.

"Guys." She called, the three of them looking at her, surprised by her serious tone. "Pick up your things. It'll start raining soon."

They did as she said and in less than two minutes, they were walking out of the park and heading to Alya's home. However, they weren't fast enough, as thick droplets began falling on them, drenching them in seconds, making them run under the heavy rain.

Marinette couldn't stop her huge smile despite of their evening being ruined.

"Dude, that was like a superpower!" Nino guffawed. "You called for it and Bam! Here comes the rain!"

"It was really impressive." Adrien tried to keep his calm demeanour, but was difficult with the rain soaking his hair and making it fall to his eyes annoyingly.

She smiled broadly at them, and the blond boy was momentarily awestruck. "Yeah, it was."

They arrived at Alya's doorway and the girl opened the door. Before Adrien could rush inside like a scared kitty, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him backwards. "Hey! And where do you think you're going exactly?"

"Inside." He groaned, trying to shake out the feeling of being wet and cold and _ugh,_ he so hated the rain.

"Well, you're not going inside like this! You're soaking wet, you're gonna ruin my house. I'm gonna bring some dry towels so you can dry yourselves and _then"_ She made emphasis on the last word, looking pointedly at the blond boy. "You can come in. Do you get it?"

"Yep." Nino grinned.

"Yes." Adrien growled.

"Good. Now behave boys."

Alya walked inside, closing the door behind her and leaving the three teens outside the rain. Adrien fidgeted in his feet. How much time she needed to get some dry towels, honestly? She was happy to leave her friends under the cold rain, even her so-called best friend!

Speaking of which…

Adrien turned around, just to be captivated by the blue-haired girl. She was standing under the rain, her bag discarded at the narrow part of the doorway that was covered, and was smiling softly at the skies, letting the raindrops roll on her cheeks and falling to the floor.

It was mesmerizing.

He observed carefully the scene. How her arm extended and she opened her fist, trying to get as many drips as she could; how her soaked hair stuck to her pale skin and her eyes glowed in happiness. Yes, it was becoming one of his favourite memories of the rain.

The shirt he was wearing decided it was the time to soak through, and he stifled a yelp. Right. First take cover, then gawk at Marinette. _No. Don't_ gawk _at Marinette_ , he scolded himself mentally. _Just get under the goddamn awning, Adrien._

Marinette opened her eyes and watched in amusement how Adrien tried to get comfortable in the only dry spot of Alya's doorstep, his face scowling when he saw his entire body was drippling with water. He was way too cute sometimes.

"Afraid of harmless rain, Adrien?" She teased him, walking slowly towards his direction and sitting beside him.

"I don't like being wet." He grumbled, trying to avoid his wet hair sticking to his front. "You seem to like it, though."

She hummed and untied her hair, running her fingers through her wet bangs. "Yeah, it calms me. I've always liked the rain. When I was little I always rushed to the balcony to play with the puddles."

He smiled playfully at that. "I bet it was a sight to see – little Marinette with her clothes soaking wet and laughing at the sky. I'm sure you were adorable."

"Shut up." She laughed. "But it was something like that."

He grinned at her, but soon lost his easy-going smile and glared at his trickling hair that kept on sticking to his forehead. Sick of it, he shook his head from side to side, trying to get out as much water as possible.

" _Adrien_! Stop!" She cackled, shooting her extended hands up between them in defence, and trying to stop the tiny drops from hitting her. " _Stop!_ Why are you shaking so much? Are you a dog?"

"I don't like rain." He groaned, his hair standing out, losing the stylish look he always wore. "And I consider myself more of a cat."

Her laughter fell and a soft smile replaced it. Remembering something, she opened her bag and began looking around for something. "Wait, I've got just the thing." She took out the pink towel and handed it to him. "Here you are. You seem to need it more than I do."

His eyes brightened when he saw the dry cloth and stood up suddenly, grabbing the hand that was holding the towel and kissing her knuckles. "Thank you very much. You just saved this stray cat."

She answered at his ministrations with a roll of the eyes and a soft giggle. He began rubbing his head roughly, trying to get his hair as dry as possible. She laughed some more when his head poked out of the feminine cloth, his hair standing in all directions.

"Dude, what the hell was that?"

Nino spoke in front of them, still standing under the rain but too dumbfounded to move. The pair looked at him as if they didn't remember he was with them, then at each other, getting startled at who was in front of them.

 _Oh, god, how could I forget-?_

 _For a moment, I thought it was…_

 _B-but he just looked like…_

 _It-it is too much of a coincidence, isn't it?_

 _It can't be…_

They looked at each other as if they did it for the first time. The way that Adrien's hair hung untamed around his face without the gel keeping it in place, giving him a wild air; the way Marinette's seemed to round her face, making her pale face and freckles stand out. The way that, despite the grumpiness, Adrien's eyes seemed to glow playfully whenever he looked at her direction; the way Marinette's blue irises warmed up when she met his eye.

 _Oh, god._

Everything they had overlooked began to sum up, giving them the clues they desperately needed to reach to the same conclusion. All they had needed was just to get stuck in the rain, and someone pointing out the obvious. They looked at one another in awe.

Nino fidgeted in his step, looking confused at how the two teens seemed almost frozen, looking at one another. "H-hey…? What's going on?"

Both of them looked at him sharply, making him yelp, and Marinette stood up beside Adrien. The two teens gave him the same oblivious look, smiling slightly.

"Whatever you mean, Nino?" Marinette asked him like nothing was wrong.

"The staring thing. What was it?"

"The staring thing?" Adrien wondered and they turned their heads to look at one another. "What do you mean by 'staring thing'?"

He stammered. "I mean the staring thing! First both of you act like totally different people, and then stood there like- like ice figures or somethin', looking at one another."

"I really don't know what you mean, Nino." She looked calmly at the blond boy. "Do you, Adrien?"

"Nope."

Alya chose that moment to come out of her home, carrying some dry towels in her arms. When she saw Nino was still standing on the rain, she yelled at him. "What the hell are you still doing under the rain, Nino? Come under the doorway before you catch a cold, for god's sake!"

"B-but Alya! I-It's Marinette and Adrien!" He gestured towards the seemingly clueless pair. "T-they were acting all strange towards each other. They were _flirting_ – Adrien _kissed_ her goddamn hand! And Marinette wasn't stuttering like crazy!"

"Hey!" Said girl exclaimed in protest.

Alya looked at him sceptically, then his gaze returned to the pair. They were standing close, like, _really_ close; and both of them kept a neutral face, something that stuck out like a sore thumb, considering Marinette's habit of blushing like a strawberry whenever she was at ten metres or less from the model. Very weird, indeed.

"Everythin' alright?" she narrowed her eyes on them.

"Geez, yes! Why wouldn't it be?"

She nodded at the pink cloth resting on Adrien's shoulders. "Whose towel is it?"

"Marinette's." Adrien answered calmly. He glanced sideways and met the girl's blue gaze. "She lent it to me, I don't like to be wet."

"How thoughtful of you, Marinette."

She shrugged. "I knew it was going to rain soon, so I brought it with me, and Adrien seemed to need it more than I did, so I gave it to him. It's no big deal."

No big deal. _No big deal,_ says the one who has trouble just saying good morning to the blond boy. Says the one that stole Adrien's phone because she messed up with a voicemail. No big deal, her ass.

"See! I told you so!" Nino pointed at them, rubbing his head with a towel he caught from Alya's grasp while she questioned them. "They're being beyond weird."

Alya glared at Marinette, who in response shot her an innocent look. Sighing, she gave up. She wasn't going to have her answers at the moment, but she was so gonna corner the blue-haired girl when she was alone, oh yes.

"Whatever. Just get the damn towels and get inside. I'm preparing hot cocoa."

"About that…" Marinette drew out, looking from the rain to the redhead. "I'm gonna stay out some more time, is it okay? You know how much I love rain." She smiled at her.

"Whatever. But don't be too long, okay? I don't want you catching a cold."

"Sure!" she stepped out of the doorway again, letting the rain fall again in her cool skin.

"I'm going inside. Nino, Adrien, come in."

Alya walked inside, Nino soon following her. Adrien, however, stood on the doorway, looking how Marinette twirled under the downpour, her now free hair curling at her neck. She stopped and looked at his direction, shooting him that calm smile that managed to melt him and warm him despite the cold.

"Afraid of harmless rain, Kitty?" She teased him.

"Of course not, Princess. I'm just enjoying the view."

She grinned at him and extended her hand, wiggling her fingers. "Come with me, Chat."

"You know I don't like getting wet, my Lady."

She kept her hand extended. "Come."

He obliged and stepped out in the cold rain. He supressed his shivering and accepted her hand, intertwining their fingers. He placed his other hand on her lower back, beckoning her closer to him. She looked up, her eyes twinkling.

"Now what?" He asked with a rough voice.

"Now we dance."

He did as she said, and soon both of them began dancing, the sound of the rain falling being their only music, and their coordinated steps guiding them. He would surprise her spinning her, or she would quicken the pace just to stop afterwards, breathing being the only moves they made before they started dancing again.

Now _that_ , he decided, that had become Adrien's favourite memory of the rain.

Alya and Nino looked how they danced without music from the doorway, towels firmly draped around them and a mug of hot cocoa on their hands. Alya sipped from her drink absent-mindedly, her whole attention focused on the happy pair.

"How did that happen? And When?" Nino wondered aloud, his glasses misted by the steam the beverage let go.

"I have no idea. Something else happened when I was inside?"

Nino shook his head. "No. They just stared at one another like they were seeing each other for the first time, and then that happened. Do you happen to have an idea of what went on their minds?"

"No. I'll try to pry some information of her later, but the way she denied it… I don't know if I'll be able to get much." She looked at how she laughed merrily and how his gaze softened, looking at her. "But I'm sure of one thing."

He cocked an eyebrow. "And that is?"

She grumbled. "No big deal, my ass."


	3. The air vent

**_This one-shot is a bit different from the other ones before. Kind of. You'll see after you read it. I just really wanted to vent my frustration (finals are coming and I'm in no way prepared for them), and writing about stupid situations is one of the best therapies. Hope you like it!_**

* * *

 **Ch 3. The air vent**

Marinette hugged the plastic bags she was carrying with a squeal of delight. It had been a month since she had found the softest, most _perfect_ fabrics in existence at the small shop situated at the Centre Beaugrenelle Paris, and they were finally in her possession. They had been way too expensive for her tight budget, but when the sales came – and after a very opportune 50% off – she could afford buying the fabrics of her dreams.

Alya laughed at Marinette's antics. "You're crazy, girl. I swear to god that clothing is the real love of your life."

"You don't get it, Alya!" She hugged the bags again, taking extra care of not wrinkling the clothes. "Can you imagine how many dresses I can make with these? They're going to look awesome!"

"I get it, I get it!" She chuckled. "Will I get something in reward for carrying half of your bags, though? These aren't exactly light, you know? And I had to tug the fabrics out of those crazy old women's hands. They were yanking at them like they were possessed, I've never worried more about my well-being than today, and I've faced some crazy Akumas."

Marinette placed her hand to her chest dramatically. "I will never forget how you fought valiantly for the pale blue silk fabric with that hag, Alya. I will tell the tale of Aunt Alya the cloth saviour to my children, then to my grandchildren, then to my grand grandchildren! You will become a legend!"

"Your knight in shining armour, that's me. I will protect the seamstress Marinette with my life forever!" She announced as she bowed, her voice never leaving the joking tone.

Marinette giggled at her, and her mind subconsciously wandered to one leather-clad cat that had proclaimed something similar not so long ago. _It seems you have competition for the Knight position, silly kitty._

"Well, my knight, would you allow me to reward you for your courage and treat you to a coffee?"

"It would be my pleasure, oh fair Marinette."

They walked alongside each other, looking for a café. Climbing up a floor, they soon found themselves in front of a cosy-looking coffee shop. They took seat on a table for four against the wall, placing the bags on the seats between them and the wall.

Alya took out her mobile phone to update her blog with some pictures she had taken the night before of the two superheroes and protectors of Paris. It was too dark and a bit fuzzy, but there was nothing she couldn't do with a bit of tweaking of the picture.

Marinette made sure the bags were secured on the chairs and nodded to herself. "Okay, I'm going to order now. What do you want?"

She raised her eyes from the phone's screen "Oh, a mocha will do. Thanks again, Mari."

"No problem. It was you who joined me in this madness, I should be the one thanking you. I'll be right back."

Then, three things happened simultaneously in the lapse of only ten seconds, so coordinated that if only one bystander had been looking closely, they wouldn't have been able to believe their eyes, as it was too… orchestrated to be a mere coincidence. But luckily – or unluckily – no one was paying attention to the dark haired girl that had just stood up and made a step back, ready to make her order.

No one noticed the waitress, that had just been hired a week ago, as she walked still a bit wobbly on her feet and tried to dodge all the misplaced chairs and the sitting people, the silver tray on her hands swaying dangerously, but miraculously, the drinks on it not falling.

No one noticed how one overweighed man sitting on a table nearby cleaned his lips after eating a delicious chocolate croissant with a paper tissue, placing the dirty paper on the table just to knock it off the surface with his elbow unintentionally, letting the object fall to the floor.

They surely didn't notice each other, either.

Because when the waitress was trying to dodge the big man, Marinette stood up suddenly, making her lose her step. She instinctively stepped aside, with the bad fortune of placing her left foot on the slippery tissue, which slipped without effort on the recently polished floor.

The waitress lost her footing, and the precarious-looking tray finally fell forward in Marinette's direction, and she fell on top of the broad man, hitting her head hard against his shoulder. The blue haired girl noticed a second too late what was going on, and she had only time to make a step forward before the expresso and the hot chocolate the waitress was carrying fell on her.

And then those ten seconds ended, leaving a flustered man, an almost knocked out woman and a girl with her jacket soaked with hot brown liquid. There were a few seconds of silence, as all the onlookers were too stunned to talk, but then time seemed to start again and everyone regained their senses.

"Oh my god Marinette!" Alya exclaimed, standing up "Are you okay?"

Said girl took out her jacket before the hot liquid came in contact with her skin. "Yeah." She then bowed to the dizzy woman. "I'm so sorry! It's all my fault!"

"N-no! It was me." She shook her hands apologetically. "I was the one that tripped, and I ruined your clothes! I'm always messing up, I'll be fired in no time."

A tall man approached them. "Maron, what is the meaning of this?"

"Manager! I-I-"

"I'm so sorry, sir." Marinette interrupted. "I pushed her unintentionally when she was passing by, and I made her drop all the drinks. I deeply apologize, and I will pay for those, it was my fault they were ruined."

Maron looked at her win bewilderment. "B-but-!"

"There's no need to apologize, kid." The manager sighed and eyed Manon playfully. "I'm just glad our employee hasn't harmed you in any way; she has had a track record of running into our customers. And don't worry about the drinks, it was an accident, after all."

Marinette nodded and helped the waitress to stand up. When the manager left, Manon hugged the girl with a squeal.

"Thank you so much! You so saved me from being fired. Tell me what you and your friend want to drink – they are on me."

She waved her hands, her eyes wide. "I-I can't possibly accept your offer! It was my fault after all."

"No it wasn't. I'm just that clumsy, so it was bound to happen, believe me. Moreover, you stepped up for me, a total stranger, when I almost ruined your lovely dress, so let me thank you!"

"Okay…" Marinette accepted, rather reluctantly. "We would like a Mocha and a Vanilla and white tea, if that's okay."

"Coming right away! Oh," She winced, eyeing the piece of cloth in her hands. "You should probably wash that jacket before the chocolate dries. I can tell from experience that this stuff is really hard to get out once it's dry."

She looked down at the cloth and frowned. "Oh, um, right. Alya, do you mind to wait up here while I go to the bathroom?"

"Sure thing, Mari. I'll wait for you here."

She walked outside the coffee shop and unfurled the jacket. It had a nasty brown stain on the back, and Marinette had been lucky it was larger than the ones she was used to wear; her dress had been saved because of it.

She soon spotted the women's bathroom and stepped inside, mumbling to herself.

"Great job, Marinette. Not only you ruin your jacket _but_ you almost get a poor woman fired in the process. Is there any other possible way you can mess-"

Her mouth clamped shut as she absorbed the view in front of her. Well-toned legs wearing black combat boots and a tight leather suit. A tight bottom crazy fangirls fawned over, and a leather belt tail that had straightened up, unmoving. And… well, that was all she could see, as the top half of him was out of view.

"… Chat Noir?"

The tail jerked a bit, then began swaying softly, almost shyly. She thought she heard a soft sigh from the hole he was stuck in, and the superhero spoke up. "… Hello, Princess."

That was all Marinette needed. She roared in laughter, the force of it making her double and her eyes teared up. She tried to stop, but the sight of the man hanging on the wall didn't help her one bit. When she was able to catch her breath, she cleaned some stray tears that had fallen from her eyes and asked between giggles.

"Chat, wha- ahaha, what are you doing dangling halfway out of an air vent? And in the girl's bathroom?"

"… I have a totally plausible reason."

"Let's hear it, then."

"You see, I was just passing by in my civilian self when I spotted this black butterfly hovering around a kid. That was an Akuma, mind you. The things that have been possessing the inhabitants of Paris these months?"

"I've heard about them." She assured him secretly amused, crossing her arms. "Alya talked about them once or twice." _Not totally true, but neither a lie._

"Right. Well then, I transformed before it could Akumatise the poor boy and the butterfly flew away; it sensed me, I suppose. I followed it behind; trying to capture it before it infected someone else and it came here. It tried to escape through the ventilation system, but I jumped and caught it. I used Catalyst to trap it until I find Ladybug to purify it."

"Oookay…? So you captured the Akuma, and you didn't come out of the air vent because…"

He hesitated. "My baton may or may not be stuck in a joint."

That made Marinette burst out laughing again. Chat spluttered indignantly, and she controlled her laughter this time around. Kind of.

"Oh my god, this is priceless. Alya would _die_ to see you like this – she would make a documentary of it, your ass up front. And she would win so many followers in her blog. Maybe I should go find her…?" She teased him.

"Please, don't tell her! I'll do whatever you want me to, I promise!" His tail curled, tense.

Her eyes softened. "I'm not actually going to do it, silly cat. I was only teasing."

His tail untangled, visibly relaxed, then tensed once again. "That's good, because-"

An intense beeping suddenly echoed inside the metallic compartment, and before Marinette could react, a green light engulfed him and she stared at the denim-wearing bottom half of his civilian self.

"-I'm about to transform back. Perfect timing, Plagg." He finished dryly.

A black fuzzy ball phased out of the ventilation system his miraculous bearer was stuck. "You knew that Catalyst wears me out much more than Cataclysm does, and you were all for it, so don't blame me, boy." He then eyed the girl standing at the bathroom and floated in front of her face. "Nice to finally meet you, Princess. Do you happen to have any cheese with you?"

"Plagg, leave her alone!" Chat groaned, wiggling violently.

"I'm sorry. I don't have cheese, but I happen to have some cookies in my purse. Is it alright?"

He shrugged. "Will do for now."

Marinette placed the dirty jacket on the washbasin and opened her purse slightly so only her hand could fit through and the black kwami couldn't see the interior. Despite her efforts, Plagg's eyes glinted when he saw a tiny red someone moving inside. He took the cookie Marinette offered him with a mischievously smirk.

"Thank you, Princess." He took a bite on the tasty sweet. "This is delicious. I know someone that would love to have a taste of this. Maybe you know her?"

Oh, the little devil had seen her alright. Tikki opened the purse and glared from inside, but that only made the black cat snicker, clearly amused. Oh god, she was screwed. If Chat's kwami knew, it was only a matter of time that her cover was totally blown-up.

But before she could think of a way to convince Plagg of not saying a word about it to anyone – without blowing herself up in front of the stuck superhero – the metal of the air vent groaned in warning before it bent, making Chat fall with a yelp, landing on his back painfully with a thud.

It happened so quickly Marinette didn't have time to react and close her eyes in order to protect Chat's identity, so she quickly noticed those familiar styled blond bangs and those clear green eyes that were currently screwed shut in pain.

 _Oh… my… god._

* * *

Adrien had to admit this wasn't one of his brightest moments. Okay, so the initial idea was pretty good – to capture the Akuma before it infected the child had been a good call, but he hadn't taken into account all the running and leaping around the streets of Paris behind a _bloody_ butterfly.

And then, the annoying bug, clearly not having enough embarrassing him, had tried to escape from him through the women's bathroom. He'd had to make sure no one saw him go in – what would Paris' citizens say! – and rushed after the bug. He'd finally gotten his claws onto it when he called for Catalyst and the bell on his neck fell on his hands, opened and swallowed the butterfly inside.

Chat smirked at the bell, which was softly glowing with a golden hue, and when he tried to propel his body out of the hole, he found himself stuck in it, the baton on his back screeching loudly against the metal of the air vent.

He blamed his bad luck for that.

He prayed to every god he knew of – even the kwami god – that no one came inside the bathroom before he turned into his civilian self and he could get out of that _tight_ situation. And that's when he heard the door opening.

He blamed his bad luck once again.

He heard her muttering, still oblivious to the leather-wearing superhero had become one of the decorations of the ladies' restroom – _oh, god, no, it's Marinette. What were the chances?_ – when she stopped in her tracks and her breath caught abruptly. He remained immobile, listening to every tiny sound inside the room.

"… Chat Noir?" She asked tentatively.

Adrien's face was blushing furiously under the mask. He sighed, knowing there was no way out of this – _literally –_ and reluctantly acknowledged her. "… Hello, Princess."

She laughed at him. A lot. He actually had to wait for her to calm down, as she didn't seem to have the strength to do so for a while. He was mortified, but somewhat happy that he had taken out such a joyful reaction from his Princess. She was always so shy and quiet around him, he didn't know she had such a carefree laugh. He found out he liked it very much.

But it wasn't the end of it, oh no! She began teasing him in a way that somehow tugged at his memory, and he let his mind drift away from that ridiculous situation. He quite liked how she behaved when she wasn't with Adrien… maybe he could visit her as Chat and get to know her some more?

An intense beeping interrupted his musings and he knew he was screwed. He clasped his fingers in the joints of the air vent before his transformation faded out, and managed not to fall on his butt, protecting his identity from his classmate.

Then Plagg thought it was a great idea to molest Marinette in order to get his share of cheese. But she amazed him as she not only didn't freak out with the tiny creature floating in front of her, but she also gave him a cookie!

Before he could comment on that, though, the air vent finally gave in because of the extra weight and bended, making him lose his grip from the joints and fall on his back painfully. He groaned, slightly disorientated and clamped his eyes shut.

"Ow, ow, ow…" Adrien sat down, hissing while rubbing his head "That really hurt. Oh!" He quickly grabbed the golden bell he'd let go in the fall. "Here you are! Good, it's still okay."

"Ehm, kid?" Plagg interrupted. "I admire you dedication to your job, but you seem to forget something…"

"What-" He turned around his head and his eyes widened when he saw the frozen teen behind him.

Blue eyes impossibly wide, mouth slightly agape, Marinette was staring at him as if he had seen a ghost. Some part of him – one he associated to his Chat self – admired how her hair, currently free of her usual pigtails, curled above her shoulders naturally, and how the pale pink dress matched her rose round cheeks quite adorably.

 _Focus, Adrien. She has just found out you're Chat Noir. Say something!_

"Uh, oh- Well. I…"

 _Way to go, Adrien. Way to go._

"A-Adrien? Y-You're… you're…?"

He stood up, sighing in defeat, and in two long strides he was in front of her. He bowed and captured her hand, placing a light kiss on top of it. He couldn't supress the smirk on his face as her cheeks reddened. "Chat Noir at your service, _Purr_ incess."

Something in Marinette seemed to shift at that. Suddenly, her posture was more confident, and her face was adorned with a tiny smile when she rolled her eyes at his antics, even though she was still blushing.

"Should have seen it long ago, really. Only a model would have _that_ ego." She joked.

"Hey, it's not that bad!" He ignored Plagg quipping that it really was. "Now, I'll have to ask you to keep my secret, Princess. No one must know about it, not your parents, and god, please, not Alya. She would make my job much more difficult than it is now."

"She would probably follow you around in school to ask you for an interview." Marinette laughed, and Adrien soon joined. "But don't worry, _Chaton_. Your secret's safe with me."

He exhaled, relieved, and let a sincere smile graze his lips. "Thank you, Princess. I owe you a big one. Tell me whatever you want, I'll do it."

"Could you start with stopping calling me Princess?" She sighed at his bemused expression. "At least in public?"

"Mmm, I can't promise that. You can't teach an old cat new moves. But for you, Princess, I will make an effort."

Marinette groaned. Was that Adrien's true self? This slightly cocky, flirty boy with looks that could kill and cat puns that most certainly would? She then looked at the big bell he was holding with a tight grip, and she was reminded he hadn't forgotten for one instant his task towards Paris, and well, she could see the Adrien – and Chat, to be honest – she knew reflexed in that.

She supposed he was just a combination of the two, just as she and Ladybug were. She could totally get used to it.

"Anyway, you want to join Alya and me? We're having a coffee near here. What do you say?"

He looked hesitant. "I should get Ladybug…"

"Kid." Plagg called. "The butterfly is already inside the Catalyst, it's not like it's going to fly away. You can call her later. I don't think she'll mind, right, Princess?" He smirked at the glaring girl. When Adrien looked at her in confusion, she quickly changed her expression and smiled innocently at him.

"Yeah, totally. If the Akuma is secure, then we don't have to worry, do we?"

That seemed to do it for the blond boy. "Okay. Lead the way!"

She grabbed the already dry jacket – there was no way she could clean that stain with her own two hands – and made it for the door, when she was reminded of a tiny detail that hadn't even crossed her mind until then.

"You. Um." She blushed again, and Adrien cocked his head in confusion. "Could you let go of my hand? It's not that I don't enjoy it, I really do, but Alya will jump into conclusions way too fast."

It was Adrien's turn to blush. He let go of her hand spluttering apologies, and Marinette giggled blithely. She opened the door, checking for people that might see them walk out, and opened the door fully when the coast was clear.

He stepped out, but Marinette stopped him. "Oh, and Adrien?"

"What?"

Her eyes warmed up. "I'm glad it's you. Chat Noir, I mean."

His smile was grateful as they stepped out of the bathroom. After one believable explanation of how they'd met on her way back from the bathroom, the three teens enjoyed their drinks and chatted about everything and anything, Alya sometimes throwing Marinette strange looks at her… _normal_ behaviour towards the model.

But she couldn't help it! Once the shock about the revelation faded out, she couldn't help but feel at ease around Adrien. He was her partner, there was no way she could feel awkward around him – well, there were sometimes when she felt a bit overwhelmed, because he showed all those traits she adored from both of them and, oh god, she was falling even deeper.

While Adrien and Alya discussed Nino's next DJ project, Marinette mused if she should tell him her real identity. She had discovered his, even if it was unintentionally, so it was fair to let him know too, wasn't it? But somehow, it didn't feel _right_ to just say 'Hi, I'm Ladybug.'

No, she would let him find out it by himself. She would throw in some clues, yeah, but nothing too obvious. That would make it more exciting.

She giggled, and Adrien met her gaze with a charming smile that was purely Chat's – and that may have melted her on the inside a little bit. She could already see the face of confusion he would make whenever she threw him a hint about herself… oh, she was really eager to start their little game.

 _Let's see what you've got, Chaton. Do you think you can catch me?_

* * *

Soft footsteps were the only sounds on the rooftop that quiet night. Chat Noir raised his eyes and met Ladybug's amused gaze.

"You called, Kitty?" She then frowned, looking at his collar. "Where's your bell?"

"Ah, My Lady. This tomcat is grateful for you showing up. I've got a _purr_ esent for you. Here." He raised his hand, the ball still pulsating with a golden glow, and Chat sobered up a bit. "I used Catalyst this afternoon to trap an Akuma. Would you be so kind to cleanse it?"

"With pleasure, _Chaton_. May I?"

He handed her the ball and she threw it in the air. Just as the bell opened and the Akuma was freed, she twirled her yoyo and captured it before it could fly away. She waved it away and caught the bell again, returning it to him.

"Here you are, Chat."

He grabbed the hand that was handing him the bell and kissed its back, his eyes glinting when her cheeks reddened a little. He was really thankful for his night vision right now.

"Thank you, My Lady."

She nodded and leaned on the wall, watching the lights of her city dance in the night sky. Chat was strolling on the edge of the building, his graceful steps following an imaginary beat.

"Chat, did you know you walk like a model?"

He looked up at her, slightly taken aback. "W-what?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, you know. You're really graceful sometimes, I suppose it comes with the cat package, but you could really make it as a model. I wouldn't be surprised if your civilian self was."

He stumbled in surprise, but managed to regain his footing. "O-oh, really?"

"Be careful, kitty! We don't want you to get hurt, do we?" She teased. "I was honest about the modelling thing. Then again, you sometimes are too clumsy for your own good." She interrupted herself chuckling. "I'm a fine one to talk, me. I'm really clumsy in my civilian form."

Chat's ears perked up at that. He was quite flabbergasted at his Lady's sudden decision of sharing tiny details of his civilian life. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate it – quite the contrary, as he was desperate to know any single thing from the girl – but it sure caught him off guard. "Oh?"

"Yep." She frowned, apparently oblivious to the mental breakdown he was having. "Today, for example. I made a poor waitress drop her trail, and I almost get her fired because of it!"

Both of them laughed, although something in his Lady's story stirred Chat's memory in an odd way, but he couldn't pinpoint what made it so familiar. Maybe she had told him something similar before? No, that couldn't be. So then, what was it?

"Anyway," Ladybug interrupted his musings, stretching her back. "Paris seems pretty calm tonight, so if you don't need me anymore, I'm going home. Call if something else happens, okay?"

"There will not be a single time of the day I will not need you by my side, My Lady, but don't worry, I'll contact you if an Akuma makes an appearance."

"Right. Don't hesitate to call, even if it's late at night." She said with a strange glint in her eyes. "I would hate to see you _stuck_ in a _tight_ situation without me around. You hear me?"

He tilted his head in confusion and narrowed his eyes. She sounded almost as if she… he shrugged the feeling off. She couldn't possibly know. "Ah, it makes me really happy that my Bugaboo worries about me. I'll call you, Chat's honour."

"Riiiight. I have my doubts about you having such thing. Let's call it my act of faith in you." She joked. "See you!"

His eyes drank the gracious figure of his Lady as she swayed on Paris rooftops, heading home. It never ceased to amaze him how natural it felt to see her nearly fly through the sky, almost as if it was her real element. That gracility accompanied her wherever she was, in the way her hips seemed to sway inside that red and black suit that left little to imagination, the way the pale pink cotton skirt she wore today seemed to caress her toned legs in every step she-

Wait. Why was he thinking of Marinette?

Speaking of the blue-haired girl, he had been quite pleased how everything had turned out in the end. She hadn't been weirded out by the ridiculous situation he'd found himself into, and after the initial shock, she had accepted the truth quite well. Not only that, but it seemed her wary behaviour towards him she had before had seemed to vanish.

He had learned more about her in the two hours he spent with her and Alya in the coffee shop than in all those months they'd been classmates, and he felt there was still much more to learn about the sweet and amazing girl. He wanted to know about her; no, he _needed_ to know her. He didn't know where that feeling – or _feline,_ he corrected himself, snickering – came from, but once acknowledged it was really difficult to ignore.

Would she be awake at that moment? If she was, what was she doing? Maybe designing; she said she'd spent many nights awake drawing her ideas in her sketchbook before they faded away. Maybe she was doing that tonight?

Would she care if Chat Noir made her a visit that late in the night? Would she care if _Adrien_ made her a visit? He really wanted to see her, but what would his excuse be? That he wanted to hang out with her? She would kick him out, no doubt about it. But now that she knew he was Adrien, her friend, would she?

When he took notice of his surroundings, he was already standing near one familiar bakery, and the lights were on at the attic of the building. Before he could second-guess himself, he jumped to her balcony.

He looked down at the glass of the trapdoor and saw her lying on her belly on her bed, her hair still out of her pigtails and wearing a baggy sleeveless T-shirt that looked way too cute on her. He could hear soft humming coming from inside, and she was wiggling her feet absentmindedly, her sole attention on the notebook in front of her, where she was drawing.

He tapped at the glass and grinned when her big round eyes focused on him, startled, and a soft blush started forming on her cheeks. God, she was too cute for her own good. She stood up quickly, opening the trapdoor wide.

"C- Adrien! What are you doing here?"

 _Uh oh._ "I was on patrol, saw your light and I thought to stop by." She made a strange face at that. "Mind to let a stray cat in?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, there's a 'No pets allowed' policy here at the bakery. But you're not coming to stay, are you, tomcat?"

"I will stay by your side as long as you let me, Princess." He purred.

She cracked. "Stop it! Okay, come in. Just-" She stopped him and winced slightly. "Could you wait a bit outside? I have to sort this… mess. Yeah."

"Oookay?"

She nodded and closed the trapdoor behind her. He was tempted to follow her in, but he'd already imposed her coming that late at night, so he would be a good kitty. He didn't want to be kicked out.

The glass trapdoor didn't let him see too much of the room, but he could see glimpses of her moving around with things in her hands, sometimes disappearing completely. When she seemed to finish, she climbed up the stairs to her bed again, a tray in one of her hands with two mugs full of a hot liquid, and she opened the trapdoor for him.

He jumped down carefully, making sure he didn't make her drop the tray, and dropped his transformation as his legs touched the soft mattress. Marinette exhaled once the green light had faded out.

"I'll never get used to this." She smiled. "Tea? Plagg, there is a dish with Cheddar at my desktop. You can eat as much as you want."

The kwami's eyes brightened in glee "Really!?" She nodded. Plagg squealed in glee and rubbed his head on her cheek before rushing downstairs. They chuckled when the kwami yowled in delight when he saw just _how much_ cheese there was.

"Now he won't want to leave your place. You've been clever not to offer him Camembert, thought; he would've probably asked your hand in marriage." She laughed at his exaggeration and handled him the mug. He took a sip of it and moaned. "Oh, this is purrfect. Pawsome. Pawsitively delicious."

"If you make another cat pun, I'm going to spill my mug on you."

He waved his hands apologetically. "Okay, okay!" He grabbed the cup again and brought it to his lips. "I didn't know you were so catty **.** "

"Adrien, I swear to god-!"

"I'll stop! Chat's promise." He crossed his heart with his finger.

"Right. I have my doubts about you having such thing, but I'll have to put my faith in you, right?"

"Meouch. You hurt me, Princess."

Marinette's cheeks acquired a really beautiful shade of pink at her nickname – something he hadn't accomplished as Chat before, Adrien noted – but she acted as if it hadn't even occurred.

"Anyway, why do you still call me Princess? You would think that after the Evillustrator accident you would drop it, but you won't, will you?"

"This Chat merely calls things for what they are. And you are a royal beauty, Princess." He grabbed her free hand and kissed it.

There it was, that painfully familiar roll of the eyes, even if her cheeks were dusted in pink. He hadn't noticed until then that Marinette resembled Ladybug quite a bit, to be honest. Once she'd lost that weariness she seemed to have whenever he stood, she was quirky, clever and funny.

She threw comebacks at his teasing as if it was a normal occurrence, and Adrien couldn't resist to tease her as much as he could. She was showing so many parts of her he didn't know, his heart soared in happiness for getting to know her.

He placed the empty mug on the bureau on the bead's head and took his chance to lie on his back. The blanket was fluffy and smelled of sweets and cinnamon, and Adrien had to make an effort to restrain himself from rubbing his body against it and purr. He couldn't resist to close his eyes and sigh of contentment, though.

"Rough day?" She asked, lying on her side to look at him.

"Meh. Could've been worse." He opened his eyes and turned his head. "After I left, Natalie scolded me for two hours straight for leaving the photoshoot without saying anything. It's not like I can use the I-am-Chat-Noir-I-was-saving-Paris card, can I? It's supposed to be a secret, and all that."

She giggled. "Did you meet with Ladybug?"

"Yeah, I did. She cleansed the Akuma, then left me for patrol. It was my turn today."

"And here you are, slacking off in my room. You should be ashamed, _Chaton_."

"What can I say? I'm just a tomcat, I can't help to be lazy." He made a Cheshire smile. "Moreover, my heart was stolen by a Princess wearing a pink puffy dress and flats that saved me today. Do you happen to know her?"

She groaned, but couldn't help to smile at his words. "Ugh, Adrien. You're so cheesy."

"But you like it." He stated, grinning.

She raised an eyebrow, daring. "Do I?"

"Yes, I think you do. After all, it was you who admitted to like it when I grabbed you hand."

She stammered, blushing madly. "I-I- _shut up._ " She glared at the laughing boy and hit him in the arm. "I-I don't mind if you do so, that's what I meant."

"Yeah, sure." He answered, not actually believing her justification.

She narrowed her eyes, her mind set in getting retaliation. She wasn't going to allow him to get the upper hand in the teasing. Oh no.

"And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You, being all Chat Noir, running on the rooftops of Paris, all shady and mysterious, only to pay a visit to an innocent girl," He snorted at that and she elbowed him. "Don't interrupt me, Kitty cat. Where was I? Oh yeah. Pay a visit to an innocent girl on her home at night, taking advantage on her most _vulnerable_ state to try to woo her?" _Oooh, he was turning red. Aha! Now who makes fun of who?_ "I mean, this part of town isn't even part of our patrol route, _Chaton_."

Adrien froze. Well, his body froze, his mind was actually going faster than ever. What she said- the patrol route. How did she know how was their patrol route? How could she possibly know that? It was a secret between Ladybug and him, and only the two of them knew it. They have been also changing it weekly so Hawkmoth didn't pick up with it.

So how come she knew?

Then it came to mind all those tiny details that she had dropped in their conversation, along with those remarks his Lady had made that night. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't help to feel that she already knew what had happened to him when he'd called her. For god's sake, she'd teased him about it!

And then there was Marinette. A girl who wasn't fazed when a creature that _shouldn't exist_ floated in front of her face and demanded cheese. A girl that carried an inner gracility under that apparent clumsiness. A girl who spoke her mind and was witty while doing so.

Marinette noted how he fell silent all of sudden, his eyes unfocused, and she frowned. Had she said something wrong? Maybe she'd stepped out of the line? But when? She'd only said…

She'd only said…

Her eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh, _Merde_."

She sat down and dropped down on the lower floor. She had messed up. She'd wanted to tell him bit by bit who she really was, but nooo, Marinette had to mess it up, as always. Oh, no. He would think she had been playing with him, he was going to be so mad at her… He would be so mad he would never talk to her again, and how was she supposed to defend the city without her Chat? And what about her heart? How was she supposed to protect her heart?

She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt the warm hand on her shoulder. She was so busy trying – and not succeeding – not to freak out that she hadn't heard him come down too. She clenched her eyes shut, facing the floor. Maybe if he wished it with all her might she would wake up in her warm bed disorientated, and all this would become a dream, a harmless nightmare she would later on laugh at with Tikki.

She felt another soft hand making her face forward instead of down. Okay, that definitely wasn't a dream.

"Marinette…" Adrien whispered, his voice not being tinted with horror or rage as she feared, but it was soft, and her heart did some somersaults because of it. "Open your eyes. Please."

She felt torn. She didn't want to do it – for obvious reasons – but he had asked it with that voice, and her heart literally couldn't even at the moment. She fearfully opened one of her eyes slowly, only to gasp in surprise at the look of pure _awe_ he was shooting her. Her heart beat erratically, and she felt her cheeks redden, but she was too immersed watching the emotions running wild in his expressive green eyes to take notice of it.

"Marinette." _God, she loved how her name rolled off in his lips every time he said it._ "Are… are you my Lady?"

She bit her lip. It was now or never. She knew the cat was pretty out of the bag – damn it, Chat, you and your puns – but she could always try deny it. She knew him very well, and she was sure he wouldn't pry if she did, letting the matter slide as long as she wanted, even if he had been the one that had wanted to reveal their identities to each other since the beginning.

And that's what made up her mind. She trusted him with her life, and if he had confided in her with his identity when she had been just Marinette, she would confide in him when he was just Adrien.

"Tikki, come out." She said, her gaze never leaving his.

A tiny red creature stepped hesitant from behind a cushion of the chaise and floated to where the two teens stood. She hung between them and bowed at Adrien. "It's nice to finally meet you, Adrien.

He recomposed himself and nodded, a gentle smile on his face. "Pleasure's all mine."

Suddenly, a black blur went between them and tackled the red kwami. Both of them turned their heads startled, only to see Plagg rubbing his cheek on Tikki's, softs purrs coming from his tiny body. Tikka giggled at his antics.

"Hello, Plagg. I missed you."

He nodded, still not letting her go. "God, how long has it been since we last saw each other?"

"Romana and Irving."

"Ugh. Irving." He scrunched his nose in aversion, but all of them could see he didn't really mean it. "He was too sappy for my liking, more or less like my boy here. He gave me really good cheese, though."

Marinette and Adrien let the two kwamis catch up and went back to the matter of hand.

"So, you're Ladybug."

"And you're Chat Noir." She teased him, and he laughed.

"Who could've known? All this time looking for you and you were behind me. Literally. I don't know if I'm lucky for you being that close or unlucky for not noticing until tonight."

She chuckled, but quieted down to ask him seriously. "Are you disappointed? That Ladybug is me, I mean."

"No!" He exclaimed instantly, his conviction warming her. "How could I be? You're the sweetest and bravest girl I know, how could I possibly be disappointed?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "But I'm really clumsy, a bit of an air-head and I often second-guess myself. I'm nothing like Ladybug."

"And Adrien is boring, too polite for his own good and socially awkward, while Chat Noir is flamboyant, a bit of a flirt" She snorted. "and easy-going. While these are the two faces I show to the world, I like to think my real self lays in between. And for what I've seen so far, it's the same to you."

He held her chin again and spoke with honesty. "You're sweet and you put others first, but you won't hesitate to tease me about anything. And don't think I don't remember all the times you've faced an Akuma without your polka-dotted armour, Princess. I've seen Marinette being brave, and it suits her."

She couldn't help but smile at his words. It had been the sweetest thing anyone had said to her, and her heart soared with happiness. A feeling of confidence and boldness filled her, and she nodded to herself. It was now or never.

"Adrien… I wanted to tell you another thing."

"What is it?"

"I love you."

He took a sudden breath in surprise, and a soft blush tinted his cheeks rather cutely, but a second later, he smirked mischievously and licked his lips. "Good, now I know I won't be scolded for doing this."

Before she could ask, he closed the space between them and captured her lips in his, at first chaste, but when she began reciprocating he nipped her lower lip teasingly and deepened the kiss, making her head spin and her heart beat wildly.

They drifted apart minutes later, both breathless but their faces glowing with happiness.

"That was perfect." Adrien said, and his eyes glinted. "Or should I say-"

"Adrien. _No._ "

"- _purrfect_?"

Marinette groaned, closing her eyes. "God, that was awful."

"Do you mean _pawful_?"

"I hate you."

He put her arms around her waist and rested his forehead in hers "I think you're wrong, Princess. In fact, I believe you said you loved me just some minutes ago."

She sighed but smiled at him. "I do, and I keep asking myself why."

" _Furr_ the record, I love you too, My Lady."

"Come here, you silly cat."

He allowed her to tangle her delicate fingers in his hair and tug him down to kiss her again. After all, that was what he was planning to do all along.

 **So it wasn't a 'I discovered little by little who you really are' but 'I stumbled into your gorgeous leather-wearing butt and you happened to drop your transformation in accident' kind of fic. God, I needed this sappiness in my life.**

 **Help, I ship MaronxManager.**

 **The idea of Catalyst isn't mine, I borrowed from a fic named 'He Knows', written by Krazy Ky-Sta Hatter. Give it a read people, it's really god! Scratch that – read all her fics, they are the cutest.**


	4. Your voice

**Hello again! Here I am, with a new oneshot for you. This is a more serious one (compared to Ch. 3, everything is more serious). Enjoy!**

 **(I hope I don't throw you off with my science nerding)**

* * *

 **Ch. 4. Your voice**

Our perception of our surroundings are determined essentially from our senses. A person obtains from a really early age different inputs from the outside word, and their senses transform the information in a signal the brain can process, settling every object a shape, colour, sound, touch, taste and smell that will later on portray them in our mental process. This information is later stored in our memory, and it's going to be brought back into our conscience when it's needed.

That means that when you are thinking of an object from the outside, you really think of the feelings that are associated to this object. For example, when you think about a strawberry, you don't really think of it as a whole, but a combination of a red shiny surface with little seeds, a soft interior, green little leaves on top, a sweet taste and an aroma that your brain has associated beforehand with the concept of 'Strawberry'.

Therefore, our discernment of reality every day is a combination of our senses and our mental process. However, as we all know, our senses aren't infallible. It's really easy to fool them, making you believe that the shadow you've seen at the corner of your room isn't just the curtain moving with the night wind, but an impending doom coming at you.

That is how glamours and magic tricks work. They play with what you see, what you hear, what you touch, manipulating your train of thought in order to make you feel something you're not really feeling. That's how things hide in plain sight, even though it should be obvious.

But as everyone knows, if one of your senses is restricted, your whole perception will turn upside-down, and all those famous glamours will no longer work on them.

Marinette found out about it the hard way.

The day had started as usual, with her alarm ringing twenty minutes before class started and her rushing to get there on time, something that, as always, she didn't accomplish. They had PE at their first hour, and by the time she managed to get changed, the activity they were doing that day was about to start and everyone was already paired up.

The teacher, already used to the lateness of one of her best students, just sighed and explained the activity to her. It was an activity of trust, where people would be divided in pairs and one of them would be completely blindfolded, and the other one would have to guide them through an obstacle course safely.

"… But it seems everyone's already paired up, Marinette." The teacher said dejectedly.

And she was right. Alya was throwing her an apologetic glance, and Marinette was sure she had been waiting for her to arrive until the last moment and she had paired with Nino later on, seeing that she wasn't coming.

"Don't worry!" Marinette was quick to answer. She didn't want to cause any more trouble to the kind teacher. PE was one of the subjects she liked most, despite her clumsiness, so she didn't want to be more of a burden. "I'll just wait for someone to finish and I can do it with them."

"Yeah, that could work." Mme Renau mused, biting her pen and looking at her assistance list. She then noticed there was someone still missing. "Or maybe you can wait for-."

What she was about to say was cut when the door opened with a loud bang. The whole class turned their heads to see Adrien come inside the gym. His hair was a bit tussled, almost as if he had run to get to class on time, and he blushed slightly when he noticed he'd caused quite the commotion.

"Sorry for being late, Mme Renau. The photoshoot took longer than expected."

The teacher shook her head. "Don't worry, M. Agreste, you've arrived just on time. We're doing an activity in pairs, and you'll go with Mlle Dupain-Cheng, as she doesn't have a pair. I hope you can explain what we're doing to him, right Marinette?"

Anything Marinette had to say about the matter was drowned with a loud screech coming from no other that Chloe Bourgeois.

"Mme Renau! You can't possibly let her pair up with my Adriekins! She's unworthy of his attentions! I will pair with him instead."

Said teacher massaged her temples, her patience thinning. She had dealt with the Mayor's daughter's histrionics for half a year, and to say she was fed up with her was an understatement. Not only she skipped half of her lessons, but the other half of them she spent them sitting on a bench, as her manicure was 'too delicate for such barbarian methods'.

"Mlle Bourgeois, you already have a pair. You didn't offer yourself when Mlle Dupain-Cheng was in need of someone, so you have to stick with Mlle Raincomprix for today. Did I make myself clear?"

For things like that, Marinette adored Mme Renau.

She jumped out of her skin when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked up with wide eyes, just to see Adrien looking down at her with a smile.

"I guess we're working together today, Marinette. Could you explain me what's the activity about?"

Marinette opened her mouth, but closed it before something stupid could come out from it. Adrien and she had gotten closer those past months, and Marinette had somehow overcome her initial inability for human speech she got around him and had considerably less problems talking to him. She often let her mouth run wild, but to a less extent.

She took a deep breath and answered him, her cheeks tinted pink. "We're doing a trust exercise. One of us has to lead the other, who will be blindfolded, through an obstacle course."

"Sounds like fun." Everyone else was already blindfolding one of the duo, and Adrien looked at the black cloth in her hands. "Do you want to guide first?"

She thought about it. She still was a bit jittery for being paired up with him, so if she had to guide him first there were high chances that she messed up and made him fall, hurting his perfect face. Then his father would hate her for ruining his son permanently and she wouldn't be able to work as a designer-

 _Marinette, keep yourself together!_

"I prefer you to guide first, if you don't mind. I mean, I can do both, but I'd feel more comfortable if you do it first, because I don't know what I'm doing and-."

"Marinette." Adrien placed his two hands on her shoulders, stopping her mid-sentence and she looked at him wide eyed. He was already used to her ramblings (he found them oddly endearing), but people were starting the course already, and they had to start too if they wanted to finish on time. "It's okay. I'll guide first, I don't mind."

Her smile widened and her eyes twinkled. "Thanks, Adrien." She then handled him the blindfold. "Could you tie it for me?"

"Okay." She turned around, and he covered her eyes with it. "Tell me if it's too tight, okay?"

She nodded, and he tied it quickly. He made sure she didn't see anything making a silly face in front of her, and when she didn't react at all he nodded. They were good to go.

"Marinette, we can start now. I'm going to guide you to the beginning of the course, okay?"

"Y-yeah."

Adrien placed one hand on her shoulder and clasped his other hand in hers, and Marinette almost jumped at the sensation. He caught her as she almost tripped, and when they were at the start, he started leading her, giving her directions and telling her where she had to step.

She hadn't expected that once she didn't see anything she would feel _so much._ It was as if she could feel the objects around her, the space of the void they filled, their texture and their size; and she found out that she could somehow predict roughly where they were going to be just by being near them.

And, god help her, she could sense Adrien too. His hand felt warm against hers, and she could feel every tensing of his fingers when he was about to stop her. His smell surrounded her, a mix of soap, leather and a really familiar smell of what she could only catalogue as freedom.

She could feel the cadence of his voice and what he felt when he spoke: the concern when they reached a difficult obstacle, the happiness when they managed to overcome it, the alarm when she almost tripped.

It all told her a story she'd never managed to catch when she relied on her sight.

 _And yet, there's something strikingly familiar in him._ She pondered when she absentmindedly followed his commands. The way he carried himself. The way he protected her. She had seen it somewhere before, but she couldn't put her finger on where.

So engrossed she was on her thoughts that she didn't notice that the platform she was walking on finished in front of her, and when she made her next step she felt the void underneath her feet. She began falling, her squeal of surprise stuck on her throat, but two strong arms caught her.

She suddenly found herself pressed against Adrien's chest, and she was struck yet again with the familiarity of the action. She felt the muscles of his chest and arms tighten around her, his heart beating a song against her fingertips that she recognized immediately. The smell of _freedom_ was as strongest as ever, and her fingers tingled when his chest rumbled with a deep chuckle.

"I didn't think you'd be falling for me, Marinette." He purred teasingly against her ear.

There it was. That little clue she needed for all the pieces to come into place.

His hold was familiar because he had held her so many times to protect her from danger. His movements were so familiar because her body had memorised the way he moved in the countless battles they'd fought.

His smell was familiar because she smelt it at every patrol night, when they had time to stop for a while and chat, sitting side by side in a random roof, looking at the City of Light on its most beautiful time.

And his voice. Oh, his voice. Marinette wondered how hadn't she recognised it in the first place. It had the same cadence, the same teasing notes with stokes of care for everyone they encountered. It held the same pain hidden behind his bravado and courage.

Every time Marinette had allowed herself to think about the possibility of meeting her partner in their civilian selves, she'd imagine she'd feel many different things, from shyness to anger. What she didn't expect was the pure wave of serenity that filled her.

A shrill of anger interrupted her train of thought and startled both teens.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Get your filthy hands out of my Adrikins!"

Marinette immediately dropped her hands. Neither had realized it had been so much time since he had caught her, and Adrien made a step back to leave her space, although he didn't let go of her hand.

"Sorry." Adrien apologized, and by how he was moving, she could tell he was scratching the back of his head, a tick he had in his both selves. "You startled me when you fell, so I caught you instinctively. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." She smiled towards his direction. "You saved me from a nasty fall, so thank you."

They proceeded with the course, Marinette noticing even more details about him that confirmed what her heart had been screaming since the beginning of the activity. However, there was still one sense she had yet to use, and that was her sight.

She wanted to see him so badly. She needed to see it with her own two eyes so she could actually start believing it. And god, did she want it to be true. She wanted her _Chaton_ to be him.

They finished the course without any more accidents, her agility helping her steady her steps despite her mind being elsewhere, and he untied her blindfold carefully. She blinked twice to adjust her gaze to the light and looked at him.

And there it was the last thing she needed. The slightly tousled blond hair that was screaming at her to run her fingers into it, a mischievous grin on his face and those deep green eyes that seemed to glow on their own.

 _I have found you, minou._

"Now it's my turn." He said, oblivious at what was going on inside her head. He handed her the cloth, his head tilting adorably, like a little kitten. Her heart skipped a beat. "Help me?"

"Okay." She waited for him to turn around and she tried to tie it, but she didn't quite reach. "I'm getting it all crooked. Could you crouch a bit?"

"Trouble reaching up, Marinette?" He teased her and he crouched down a bit for her to reach properly. She glared at him – not that he saw it, anyway.

"If certain someone hadn't had a growing spurt last month, I'd be able to reach just nicely. It's not my fault you became a human tower."

He chuckled. "Maybe it's you the one who has lagged behind. I mean, who is the one who has to seat at the front row at class pictures?"

She huffed and guided him to the starting line. "I'm perfectly fine as I am, thank you very much- watch your step, there's a bench on your right. However, if you keep growing, your head will stick out of the pictures and your modelling career will come to an end. A really sad one."

"Don't tell my father, but it was my plan all along." He smirked in a way that reminded her the cat hero.

" _Noo_!" She exclaimed dramatically. "Now how will your fangirls survive without your face plastered on their walls anymore?"

Not that she'd been one of them, of course not. She ended up stopping covering her walls with his (gorgeous) face because Adrien had begun frequenting her home, and putting up and taking her posters repeatedly got tiring after a while. Moreover, she got to see the real product every day.

"Well, they can centre their attention to other celebrities, like… I don't know… Chat Noir, for example." He shrugged. "I've heard he's really handsome in real life."

She nearly snorted at his words. Typical Chat.

She told him to jump another obstacle and he continued, smugness discretely tinting his voice. "I've heard he's helped you once or twice, hasn't he? So what's your opinion of him? Is he as handsome as they say?"

 _Now you're just fishing for compliments, you dumb cat._ However, a mischievous smile formed on her face.

"He was a bit silly and _really_ flirty, but yeah, he's handsome."

Adrien nearly tripped. Marinette snorted at that. _Serves you right._

"Are you okay, Adrien? Or are you just falling for me too?" She teased him just as he had. He spluttered, his cheeks reddening, and he kept on walking, but she didn't miss his muttered 'Jokes are supposed to be my thing.'

She kept on leading him, and they arrived at the platform where she had had her epiphany (and nearly fallen to her death. Well, maybe that was a bit excessive). She stopped him on the beginning of it.

"Adrien, you're in front of the platform. The edge is at your knee's height, more or less."

He climbed up, and she had to stretch her arm so their hands kept linked. He smirked once again, and Marinette was really tempted to hit him until that expression came out of his (gorgeous, albeit irritating) face.

"What's wrong, Marinette? The platform's too high for you? I could carry you on my arms, if you wish."

 _Oh, he was having fun, the-_ "No, thank you. Now, if you step aside and make space for me to walk beside you it'll be perfect. Unless you want to go solo on this one."

"Nah, I prefer knowing you're beside me." He made a step to his left, almost falling from the platform, but she quickly climbed up and steadied him before something bad happened.

He instinctively placed his arm around her shoulders, tugging her closer in the process. However, he didn't drop it once steadied, no, but he changed his grip around her so it was more comfortable and squeezed her shoulder. Almost as if he could feel her questioning gaze, he smiled lazily at her direction. "The platform's too narrow for both of us, Princess. We'll have to share some space."

 _Adrien, your Chat is showing._

Luckily, Chloe was the one being led then and they didn't suffer one of her screeching attacks, for the whole class' sake. Adrien and she finished the routine without any more incidents, the flirty banter not stopping between them. When they reached the end, some pairs had already ended, and Adrien tucked down the cloth and grinned at her.

He bowed dramatically and kissed her hand. "Thank you for leading me so beautifully, Marinette. I had so much fun."

"Same goes to you, Adrien." She grinned at him. "I hope we get paired up some other time."

He threw a side-glance to Nino and Alya, who were looking back at them mouth ajar. "Maybe we should let Alya and Nino get some alone time from now on? I know he's dying to spend more time with her."

"I'm in." She nodded grinning.

Their teacher chose that moment to end the class, and everyone went to the changing rooms. Alya barrelled Marinette with questions while both girls were getting changed, and the other girls joined in her interrogation. Even Chloe demanded some answers from the black-haired girl, and the only answer they got from her was a secretive smile.

* * *

It hadn't been a good week for Adrien. His father had just taken out his new collection, and of course, his son had to be the main face of the campaign, as always. His modelling sessions had doubled these days, and Adrien had been forced to skip some days of school because of it. That, joined with his superhero duty... Well, to say that Adrien was exhausted was an understatement.

It seemed that even his Lady had noticed his lack of energy these past days, to the point that when they'd gone on patrol the day before she'd let him sleep on her lap, no questions asked. The touch of her fingers caressing his nape to relax him still lingered, and the memory of her sweet scent and warmth made him want to curl up and sleep for a lifetime. By her side, if possible.

But he forced himself to open up his eyes. It was the first day he was free from any photoshoots, and Adrien would've gladly spent it on his very soft and comfortable bed, if it wasn't because he had school today. He knew his father wouldn't say anything about him skipping school – on the contrary, he always looked for excuses to take him out of it – but it was his little privilege, and he wasn't about to give it up.

Even with a head-splitting migraine.

"Kid, you look like a car ran into you. Repeatedly."

Adrien stifled a yawn and washed his face, trying to get rid of his tiredness. It didn't work. "Wow, thanks Plagg. You are an awesome friend." He answered sarcastically, although he knew his kwami was possibly right.

"I think you should just skip class and go to bed. You can barely stand, let alone walk straight. How the hell are you going to cope a full day?"

"You don't get it, Plagg. I've skipped two days of school already, and I miss my friends. I won't be able to see them at the weekend, so I'm taking my chance today."

Yeah, it had only been two days, but he really missed them. Nino, with his ability to cheer him up in all circumstances, cracking a joke or letting him hear his new playlist. Alya, with her outgoing personality and her determination when she has to defend what she held dear. And Marinette...

Oh, god, Marinette. He couldn't stop the butterflies from fluttering in his stomach when he thought about the half-Asian girl. He was really glad she had opened up in those last months, and they had become good friends. However, since they had been paired at gym class, she seemed to drop the last wall between them, and her real self had shone through.

And god, wasn't he screwed.

Because adorable, shy Marinette seemed to bloom in front of his bare eyes, and she became a girl that could banter and flirt and laugh around him without batting an eyelash. It had been only a week and a half, but boy, wasn't he falling fast.

The next thing he was aware of was that he was making his way to the waiting limousine. He wasn't really sure how he'd gotten there, as lost in his daydreaming as he was.

It was a shame he started to get busy just the day afterwards, because he was dying to see more of her. It was... She reminded him of Ladybug, sometimes. Her wit, her bravery, her responsibility... And it didn't help to clear his fogged mind (or ease his poor heart) that Ladybug had softened around him, reminding him so much of the designer that he had begun confusing both of them in his tired head.

He knew that his Lady didn't want them to know each other's identities, and he understood her reasons why, of course he did. He tried not to pry, but could you fault his mind to subconsciously look for her in any girl he bumped into?

And for the life of him, he really hoped Marinette was his Lady. It would ease his confusion a great deal.

"Sir, we've arrived." The Gorilla's voice startled him and he opened his eyes, just to close them with a groan. He didn't recall taking some painkillers to deal with the annoying headache, and judging by the painful throbbing of his temples, he guessed he didn't.

He stepped out of the car with a soft goodbye for his driver and headed to the school entrance slowly. He looked at his watch and noted he still had half an hour until classes started. _That explains how deserted the school looks._ He though distracted. _Hmm… I guess I could rest for a bit? It's such a good day outside..._

His mind made up, he walked towards one corner of the school where the sun fell nicely and sat down on the hard floor, resting his head on the stone wall beside him and closing his eyes afterwards. The sun felt like a warm blanket placed on him, and if his headache would stop for a minute, he would totally fall asleep.

Now that he was at the actual building, he didn't care so much if he skipped a class or two. He could see his friends at the break, and have their usual lunch meeting at one of their homes. What day it was...? Friday? Good, that meant they were having dinner at the Dupain-Chengs. He really loved their pastries.

People began arriving to school, and Adrien frowned, his headache getting worse. If only they could lower their voices a bit he could forget about his blasted headache.

Someone was calling for him. He didn't know who it was exactly, but he recognized the voice. He wanted to answer, but it was just so _hard_ to open his mouth at the moment. So he remained silent.

Then a warm hand clasped on his shoulder, and the sweetest of voices spoke up. "Are you alright?"

Oh, that voice! The remnants of his conscience that were still awake yowled in delight. Her intoxicating smell surrounded him, and he sighed at the feel of it.

"... M'Lady?" He managed to mumble somehow, but it was too low to be sure she'd heard him.

The girl paused, then answered, a soft smile evident from her tone of voice. "... Yeah, it's me." She whispered at him, then spoke louder. "Alya, leave it to me. Tell Nino not to worry, okay?"

"You've got it. I'll tell Mme Bustier you've called in sick, okay?"

"Thank you, you're a dear."

He heard the other girl go, and then the air beside him moved, her warmth suddenly pressed against his side. He unconsciously leaned on her and rested his head on her soft shoulder. God, he'd missed her so much.

"Are you okay, _Chaton_?" He shook his head against her shoulder. "You seem tired. Have you slept at all this week?"

"Ph'toshoot." He mumbled, because that was the only explanation he could come up with.

She sighed, then her fingers found their way to his nape and he nearly purred. "Do you want to sleep on me like last night?"

He nodded, and she helped him lie down on the floor, his head resting on her thighs. He was overcome once again by the feeling of perfection that came from being close to her, her sweet scent filling his nostrils, and her delicate hands stroking his head tenderly.

He found out his headache was receding, and he finally relaxed. His arms found their way around her waist and hugged her, urging her closer, until his front touched her stomach and sighed, completely happy.

That; that was perfection.

He was drifting off to sleep, and he was content to do so, but before he lost awareness of his surroundings, he heard her mutter. "Sweet dreams, Adrien."

He didn't fall asleep fully, but he stayed in a middle place where he was only aware of her presence surrounding him, making him relax completely. His headache seemed to vanish completely, and the minutes seemed to pass without him taking notice of it. Not that he cared very much, as all he needed was currently against him.

When he woke up again, he noticed that his mind was clearer, but in any way he'd sleep as much as he wanted, or needed. He frowned, still not opening his eyes and hugged his pillow closer nudging at it with his nose. A giggle was the reply she gave him for his actions.

"Good morning, Chat. How do you feel?"

"Better. Still sleepy." He mumbled, burying his face on her stomach again. "Wanna sleep more. You're comfy, bugginette."

She chuckled. "If you have strength to call me by my nicknames, you certainly have strength to wake up fully."

"No, I can't. I'm dying, My Lady. Hold me."

"I'm already holding you, silly kitty. Don't you want to open up your eyes? It's such a beautiful day outside."

He shook his head. "I want to sleep more."

She hummed. "But you'll have to wake up soon. In twenty minutes more or less, the break will start, and Alya and Nino will be looking for you. They were really worried about you when they saw you earlier, you know?"

"Were you?"

She giggled at that. "Of course I was! You nearly gave me a heart attack. You looked dead to the world."

"Hmmm, my Lady cares. I knew you would fall for me someday."

She laughed, tugging at his hair playfully and resumed her caresses. They stayed like that, Adrien slowly waking up and taking notice of their position, but he didn't move. Maybe he even hugged her even closer.

What he first realized when his head was clear enough was that neither he nor his Lady were transformed. That meant that she was in her civilian self (judging by the cloth against his face, which felt like cotton, not magical spandex. He would know), and his foggy mind had somehow recognized her. And, more importantly, he wasn't transformed either, so she knew who he was outside of the costume.

Then, he slowly began taking notice of some other tiny details. Like her smell, of sweets and vanilla with a touch of cinnamon that spoke of whole days being surrounded of pastries that were to die for.

He recognised her touch, her fingers as soft as butterflies. There were some little callus at some of her fingertips, reminding him of her hard work and passion pursuing her dream.

He recognised the natural warmth of her touch, like a soft blanket in a cold day. It had always been there for him, something that he hadn't noticed until recently, but thanked the heavens for giving him the chance to enjoy it.

He recognised her voice, the natural concern for others that always seeped through, the spark of humour that not many managed to see, the way her tone of voice conveyed every emotion she felt and the way her laugh made his insides melt.

He recognised all of these things, and the only thing it had taken him was to close his eyes.

"My Lady?" He asked, his voice clear of sleep. She seemed to notice it too, and her fingers stopped once again.

"What is it?"

It was now or never. Adrien had a crucial choice ahead of him, something that would determine their relationship from then on. She had given him the chance to choose, playfully asking him to open his eyes, and he was awed to see she trusted him so much. We wouldn't be able to thank her enough for it in all of his nine lives.

So he took a deep breath, his eyes still closed, and mumbled against her. "I think... I think I know who you are."

A pause. And then...

"Then open your eyes, _minou_."

He did. He blinked several times to get them in focus, and he was greeted with a familiar white T-shirt. He let his eyes slowly roam up, to the familiar dark blazer to the floral pattern of the white cloth. Then he went from her pale neck to her familiar dark hair tucked in twin pigtails, and just then, he allowed himself to look up at her.

And he was greeted by Marinette's smiling face.

 **This ending is a bit more open than the other ones, so you'll have to guess what happened next (isn't imagining your OTP in different situations half of the fun?).**

 **Thank you for taking your time to read the story. I really appreciate all the support you guys have given me.**


	5. The flu

**Ch. 5. The flu**

The loud and chipper alarm was the only sound that could be heard inside a certain light pink room. A tiny hand came from under the blankets and fumbled blindly around until it found the device guilty of making the shrill sound, taking it under the covers and hiding it under a pillow until the noise stopped.

A red creature, not bigger than the palm of her hand, blinked her round eyes and rubbed the drowsiness off them. She floated from her makeshift bed to where her current Ladybug laid, still sleeping, and landed where she knew her head was placed.

"Marinette, it's time to wake up. It'll be no good for you if you are late for school again."

She groaned from under the covers, and she slowly tucked her head out of them, her eyes half-lidded and unfocused, her hair a bird's nest and her cheeks covered with unhealthy-looking red splotches.

"Marinette?" Tikki asked worriedly. She placed her tiny hand on her forehead, and quickly retracted it. "You're burning up!"

"Tikki…?" She mumbled, dazed. The tiny spirit nudged her cheek carefully, and quickly hid herself when the hatch from her room opened, a confused Sabine Dupain-Cheng making her way in her daughter's room.

"Marinette, are you awake? You'll going to be late to school if you don't get up soon."

Frowning at her daughter's lack of answer, she climbed up the stairs and noted Marinette's horrible look. She placed her hand on her forehead, and her frown deepened when she noticed how warm she really was.

"Are you feeling okay, sweetheart?" Marinette merely whined in response. "You're a bit warm. I'm going to look for the thermometer and bring you something to eat. Do you need anything?"

"Mhm." The girl managed to answer, out of sorts.

Sabine cleared the messy bangs out of her face lovingly. "Get some more rest, okay dear? I'll be back in no time."

Marinette's mother climbed down the stairs and left the room, making Tikki sigh in relief. That had been a close call. She flew out of her hiding place and floated near the girl, prepared to hide again when the older woman came in again. She looked worriedly at the panting girl; she could feel her fever raising, and she silently asked for Mme Dupain-Cheng to come back soon, hopefully with some medicine.

Her pleas were answered, and some minutes later Sabine opened the hatch once again, this time carrying a tray with hot tea and some pills on it. She climbed up the stairs, surprisingly without dropping anything, and sat beside Marinette, helping her sit down.

"Here." She brought the tea to her mouth and helped her drink a bit. "I've put some honey in it to soothe your throat, and some herbs that will lower your fever a bit. Now have these." She gave her two pills and Marinette swallowed them mechanically.

She stayed for a bit, watching as Marinette silently sipped the warm drink and rubbing soothing circles on her back. When she finished her drink, she picked up the empty glass and put it on the trail.

"I have to go back to the bakery, but if you need something call us, okay? Your papa or I'll come as soon as we can. Your phone is on the lower shelf. Will you be able to reach it?" At her soft nod, she helped her lay down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep tight, honey."

"Mmokay." She mumbled, the first coherent thing that came from her mouth that morning.

Sabine left once again the room and headed to the _Boulangerie_. Tikki came out of her hiding again, landing on the pillow near Marinette's head and nuzzled her wielder's heated cheek. The girl slowly raised her hand and cupped the kwami against her.

"Tikki… I don't feel so good." Marinette mumbled.

"I know. Everything will be okay. Get some rest, okay?"

Marinette hummed and closed her eyes, dozing off in no time.

She spent the whole morning trying to follow her mother's suggestions, but it was just so _difficult_ to fall asleep. She felt dead to the world, but her shivering made her unable to fall asleep completely. When her high fever finally let her close her eyes and relax, she would wake up trembling and feeling cold, but when Tikki covered her with more blankets she had to kick them out, suddenly feeling too hot and clammy.

Tikki would clean her sweat with a damp cloth, placing it on her forehead and replacing it when it got too warm. She also made sure her clothes were dry enough, and had to help Marinette change her sticky T-shirt for a clean one, ignoring the girl's muttered protests.

Moving was another thing that seemed to be impossible for the dark haired girl. Every one of her joints hurt whenever she moved, her limbs felt like they weighed tons, even breathing seemed a hard workout. Changing her T-shirt and standing still so Tikki could clean her had left her out of breath for some minutes, and her headache returned for a while.

Her mother came at lunchtime, carrying a rice soup and a glass of water. She didn't feel hungry, but Sabine forced her to eat at least half of her meal. When she felt she wouldn't be able to hold off any more food, her mother gave her the pills, and watched her as she swallowed them. Then, she replaced the cloth on her forehead and left.

However, the medicine seemed to have an effect on the ill girl, and that combined with some rest, her inhumanly fast healing abilities, and the care her kwami had given her, her fever had receded a bit, and Marinette was actually capable of a coherent thought. She finally fell asleep an hour after having lunch, and she was quite glad to find she didn't have a migraine when she woke up again.

"Tikki…" She called for the red kwami. She raised her eyes and floated towards her, placing her tiny forehead on hers. She nodded in satisfaction.

"Your fever has lowered. That's good; that means the medicine is having effect. I was worried your metabolism would expel them too fast. Do you need anything?"

"Water."

She grabbed the glass full of water and brought it to the ill girl. She drowned it in two long gulps and handed the glass to the kwami, who placed it on the shelf.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. Everything hurts, but I don't feel cold anymore."

"Are you hungry?" The girl shook his head. "You have to eat something, Marinette, it'll really help you with-" Tikki suddenly stopped talking, her tiny body tensing in a way that made her worry.

"Tikki? Are you okay? What's going on?"

"… Nothing."

Tikki was as bad as Marinette at lying, apparently.

At Marinette raised eyebrow, she sighed in defeat. There was no point in hiding it. "… Chat Noir is calling."

"Okay. I need to transform." She tried to get up, but her head clouded because of the sudden movement and nearly fell. Tikki rushed to aid her, although she couldn't do much with her tiny body. She managed to sit down, panting. Her whole body hurt.

"Marinette. No. You're ill. You can't get out of your bed until you feel better."

She spluttered. "I can't! I'm Ladybug! Paris needs me!"

"Paris has Chat Noir too. You know your partner; you know he's totally capable of protecting everyone single-handedly until you get better. I can't risk you getting worse over beating up some robbers or patrolling."

"But what if it's Akuma!? You know Ladybug's the only one that can purify them, I can't possibly lie around when the whole city is at stake! Do you remember what happened last time we waited too long to cleanse an Akuma? Chat needs me!" Her face showed all the desperation she felt. "I need to transform, Tikki. I promised myself I wouldn't mess up again."

Tikki looked hesitant. "You don't know if it's an Akuma, though."

"That's easy to find out." She picked up her phone and opened the browser, typing one webpage she knew too well. The Ladyblog charged, and Marinette saw a link to the newest stream. She tapped on it and the video loaded, showing an excited Alya talking to the camera.

" _Hello, Ladybloggers. Here comes Alya with the freshest stream of yet another Akuma attack. Chat Noir has just made his appearance and is fighting the Akuma right now, so that means Ladybug is about to drop by. Are you excited to see Paris' heroes in action once again?"_

Marinette looked pointedly at Tikki, who sighed in return. She bit her tiny lip, deep in thought, opinions and thoughts clashing inside her head. One part of her needed to make sure Marinette was safe and sound, tucked in her bed until she was cured; but the other part knew they needed to transform and fight that Akuma before it caused any more trouble. Even though Chat Noir was totally capable to stand up on his own, he couldn't purify Akumas; that was Ladybug's job.

"Okay. But as soon as you purify the Akuma, we're off. Did I make myself clear?"

She nodded with energy. "Yeah. I promise. Tikki, spots on!"

The ancient magic enveloped her and she was once again standing as Ladybug. Her body still hurt like hell, but her transformation had given her a bit of energy to stand up without stumbling this time.

She opened the hatch in top of her bed and jumped out of the room, grabbing the banister with two hands to try to settle her spinning head.

"Okay. Oh, boy, this isn't going to be easy." She gulped down and grabbed her yoyo, muttering to herself. "Okay, Ladybug. Cleanse the Akuma and you'll get back to your bed. You can do this."

She swung her yoyo, and Ladybug began her way towards the pile of smoke, guessing that it would be the place where the Akuma was causing mischief. Breathing deeply, she controlled her trajectory between buildings and atop the rooftops, and winced when she felt that her movements weren't as graceful as always.

Her yoyo began ringing, alerting her of an incoming call. She answered it immediately, running on top of the buildings.

" _My Lady, I've tried to call you sooner. There's an Akuma in Les Champs-Élysées."_ Chat Noir informed her, his voice a bit edgy. She saw him dodge a projectile. _"What's your situation?"_

"I'm getting there." She panted, and not only because of the extra exercise. "I have the Akuma in my line of sight. What do you know of him?"

" _He's an angry juggler with a fetish for big explosions."_

She was nearing the warzone, and she caught a glimpse of Chat avoiding two flying projectiles coming towards him.

"I see you. Get ready, _Chaton._ " She hung up and let herself drop into the action, swallowing a grunt of pain. Her joints were beginning to protest. Despite her discomfort, she stood up straight, her expression set in a poker face.

Chat stopped beside her and placed a kiss on her hand. "My Lady. It was really nice of you to drop by."

His hand was cool against hers, and she felt a sudden urge to cocoon herself against him and sleep, but she took her hand out of his hold instead. She threw him a crooked smile and turned her head to look at the Akuma.

It was almost as if a toddler had grabbed cans of paint and thrown them at someone. The clown before her seemed to concentrate all the colours of the rainbow on his pants, and that, plus the brilliant red of his vest, made her scrunch her eyes up in pain.

"We've got a bit of a fashion disaster here, I see." She made a face at the Akuma.

"Don't make fun of me!" the Akuma cried. "I am Sadclown, and I will make every child cry in fear! No one will make fun of me anymore!"

The Akuma threw them metal clubs, and both superheroes jumped up to dodge them. The objects left tiny craters on the floor.

Ladybug and Chat Noir landed some feet behind, and she nearly fell, if it haven't been for Chat catching her when she lost her footing. She shook off the concern in his gaze and stood up straight, facing the Akuma again.

"Are you okay, my Lady?"

"Yes." She answered way too fast. "But I need to end this quickly. Could you distract him while I think of a plan?"

He looked reluctant, but nodded. He shot off to the left, his baton extended, and hit the Akuma in his stomach before leaping away, angering Sadclown. The juggler began running behind him, throwing knives at the black superhero.

"Please don't throw away those knives! They are on the cutting edge!" He joked, what angered Sadclown further.

Chat was creating the perfect opportunity for her, but Ladybug couldn't move. Her head felt like it was full of concrete, and her limbs were stiff and heavy. She felt shivers running from head to toe, and cold sweat on her forehead.

The fever had returned.

She threw her yoyo upwards and called for her Lucky charm, hoping she would find _something_ to do with the object in her hands. A squishy paintball landed softly on her hands, and she looked at it with confusion. What was she supposed to-

Her entire word tilted, and she stumbled backwards, but she managed to stabilise herself against a lamppost. Her vision changed from black and white to colour, Tikki trying to force the Lucky vision on her. She panted and closed her eyes tight, trying to stop her surroundings from spinning, and when she opened them again, she was relieved when she saw everything tinted in black and white.

Her eyes focused on Sadclown, and the explosive balls he was juggling flashed in red and black. She then looked down to her own ball, and it flashed too. A tired smile came to her face when she began forming a plan.

"Chat!" She called for him, because she could barely move, and she needed to gather all her strength to finish that fight. "Bring him here!"

He complied, and sooner than later, she was facing an angry Akuma ready to throw some more balls.

"Hey, Sadclown." She stood up fully and prepared herself. "Catch!"

She threw the ball to the clown, and he instinctively moved his hand to catch it, but the ball broke when his hind tightened around it, and paint came from inside, covering Sadclown from head to toe, but most of the paint landing on his eyes.

The clown dropped all the balls in confusion, rubbing his stinging eyes, and all but one ball exploded at his feet, knocking him out. Ladybug let the lamppost go and walked towards the unconscious Akuma, picking up the ball and breaking it in two, and she let out a sigh of relief when a black butterfly came from inside.

She grabbed her yoyo with trembling hands and captured the butterfly, cleansing it, and then she threw to the sky the remaining of the paintball, the Miraculous cure taking place and restoring Paris.

She barely noticed the hand on her shoulder, or the voice talking to her. She only wanted to close her eyes. One hand turned into two as a very familiar blond boy shifted to stand in front of her, and she let out a small smile of content. She was safe with him.

Knowing that, she finally let her eyes close.

* * *

Chat Noir knew something was wrong with his Lady, even if she had shrugged it off. Her eyes weren't the brilliant blue he'd got to know in all their months of partnership and he adored so much, but they were hazy and dull. She didn't ooze her characteristic confidence, and he'd seen her stumbling from the corner of his eye more than once.

It was beginning to worry him.

That's why he rushed to her side when she cleansed the Akuma and started the Miraculous cure, and placed a hand in her shoulder. Even if there was two layers of magic spandex between them, he could feel she was unnaturally hot, and his frown deepened.

"Ladybug, are you okay?"

She didn't answer. Chat turned her around so she was facing him, and he placed both of his hands on her shoulders, supporting her weight. She didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were half-lidded and looking at the ground, and her cheeks were of an unnatural pink.

"Hey!" He called for her, trying to make her snap out of it. Her earrings beeped, and dread went through him when he noticed she was on her last dot. "My Lady, come on! Look at me, please!"

Her eyes slowly lifted and looked at him, and he could see something akin to recognition flashing in them. The corner of her lips quirked up in a soft smile, and would have been swooning in delight if her eyes hadn't roll out afterwards, her unconscious body falling on him. He rearranged his gravitational point so he could hold her extra weight without falling, and his hands cradled her face, hot huffs of air coming out of her slightly open mouth.

"Ladybug!" Chat cried and then cursed. Looking around, he noticed that reporters were starting to arrive, and with her incoming detransformation, he needed to find a place out of sight. And fast.

He picked her up in bridal style and softly placed her head on his collarbone, her ragged breath tickling him in the neck, and he jumped to the nearest roof, mindful of the person he was carrying. He ran away of the flashes and the questions, putting distance between them and looking for somewhere safe to stop.

A tall building caught his eye and he climbed it up, and just as his feet made contact with its roof, a bright pink light engulfed them both. He closed his eyes instantly, cursing at his bad luck, and he blindly walked forward, putting some distance between the ledge and them.

 _God. Oh, god._ He cursed mentally. _Her transformation has dropped off. I'm holding Ladybug's civilian self. What am I supposed to do now!? She's ill, but I can't look at her, not without uncovering her secret identity. But I can't leave her in here, she's in no state of being alone outside._

"Chat Noir." A sweet voice called for him and his head turned towards it, his eyes still stubbornly closed. He was at first a bit wary of that voice, but realisation dawned on him quickly.

"Are you… are you my Lady's kwami?"

"Yes. I'm Tikki, but that's not important right now. We need your help."

"What's wrong with her, Tikki?" He whispered, facing down at her again.

The little god sighed. "She's got the flu. Normally, my powers would've sped up the healing process, but she transformed and came out when she was still ill."

He frowned, feeling guilty. "I didn't know… god, I shouldn't have called. She went out because of me. Why didn't she stay at home? I would've hold the Akuma off until she felt better."

Guilt was slowly turning into hurt as his thoughts began spiralling out of control. Why had she come? Didn't she trust him? He was pretty confident on his fighting abilities, he could've hold them off. Did she doubt of his abilities? Did she-

"Stop!" He felt two tiny hands on her forehead. "I can tell you're overthinking this way too much. Ladybug trusts you with her life. She knows what you're capable of, as you know what she can do, and she has no doubt you can handle anything that's thrown at you. But you can't cleanse an Akuma." Realisation dawned on him as the kwami kept on talking. "She still beats herself up for Stoneheart, you know?"

His head shot up at that. "Wait, what?"

"She thinks it's her fault the Akuma got away in the first place. She didn't know she had to cleanse them, nor what would happen if she let one of them go, and she almost gave up on her Miraculous because of that."

His eyes almost opened in shock, but he managed to keep them close. That didn't stop him from spluttering. "But-Wha-? It wasn't her fault! We were both new to the whole superhero thingy! And she was brilliant! She even managed to reassure the whole city that we would protect them and cleansed the Akuma flawlessly!"

"I've said so many times, but she still doesn't believe me." Tikki stopped talking when the girl in his arms groaned, and he stiffened. They had things more important to care about.

"Never mind Stoneheart. Tikki, what do we do?"

She paused, and her voice was serious when she spoke again. "I need you to take her home."

Chat slowed down to analyse the complete meaning of her words. Tikki asked him to take Ladybug home. That meant she would tell him where she lived. That also meant he would need to open his eyes, and he would end up seeing her. Her civilian self.

"I-I can't!" He protested. "My Lady's very protective of her secret identity. I couldn't possibly take advantage of her being out cold to see who she is under the mask. I want to know her civilian self, but I will respect her boundaries."

"But we have no choice, or have we?" Tikki scolded. "I don't have enough energy to let her transform, and even if I did, she wouldn't be able to get home by herself. She will understand, Chat Noir." He still looked reluctant, and Tikki pressed forward. "Please, Chat. She needs you."

He exhaled, her words feeling like blunt hits. She was right, of course she was right, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

With a defeated sigh, he opened his eyes slowly, facing forward. The first thing he saw was the red kwami floating in front of him. Her face was marred with a worried frown. He darted his eyes down, and he caught a glimpse of toned legs wearing black leggings, a baggy pink T-shirt, but stopped just where ivory skin met the neck of the T-shirt. Taking a deep breath, he took a look at her face.

Her eyes were still closed, and her cheeks were flushed. Her tiny nose was doted of adorable tiny freckles, and her dark hair framed her beautiful face like a caress. The sight was breath-taking, but that wasn't what awed him the most.

He knew the girl behind the mask of Ladybug. He knew the gutsy, sweet girl that stumbled a bit too much for her own good but carried an inner gracility in every movement she made. He knew how rosy her cheeks could get and how endearing he found her stammering. He knew she held a deep passion for fashion, and she wasn't afraid of confronting Chloe when she tried to pick up on her.

Chat Noir knew Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and he was ecstatic about it.

Securing his grip on her lithe body, he began his way to her home – _he knew where she lived!_ – Tikki secured on Marinette's shirt. Halfway there, he felt her shifting a bit, nuzzling his neck and leaving her forehead touching the skin of his neck.

"Mm, _chaton_." She mumbled against him.

He died and revived in one second flat.

"Hang in there, Princess. We're near home." He managed to answer.

She nodded. Well, more like tried to. "You're warm, kitty." _And whose fault is that?_ "You feel so good..." She slurred and nuzzled him again. Chat doubted his heart could go faster without having a heart attack.

Luckily, he could already see her home at the distance. With two strong leaps, he landed softly on her terrace and admired his surroundings. She had so many plants! And it looked like she took care of them really well. Some ladybugs flew around them, and he couldn't help to smile at the sight.

Tikki flew towards a hatch and called for Chat's attention. She phased inside the room, and Chat carefully opened the little door and let himself drop to her bed. He placed Marinette on her bed and tucked her in, and she let out a sigh of content. He smiled softly and cleared her bangs from her face, marvelling in the fact that he'd finally found her.

Marinette opened her eyes again, and gave Chat a soft smile. "Chat…"

"Hi, Princess. You're home now. Do you need anything?" Marinette raised her hand and grabbed his, putting it in her forehead. She hummed, and Chat chuckled, messing with her bangs for a bit. "I didn't mean like that."

"You feel good."

His ring beeped in warning. "I have to go, Princess." He said, his voice rough.

" _Nooo…_ "

His heart skipped a beat. How adorable could she be? "I really need to go. My transformation is about to drop."

She frowned and grabbed him from the lapels of his suit, and with a strong tug, she made him lie beside her. Chat froze, and Marinette took that chance to sneak her arms around him and flush herself against him, sighing satisfied when she deemed he was near enough.

"P-princess?" He stuttered.

"Stay with me, _Chaton_. I need you. I feel really weak…"

He sighed and held her closer, running a clawed hand through her silky hair. She hummed again for his ministrations, and he could feel her smile against his collarbone.

"I'm about to change back, though." He muttered against her hair.

"Don't care."

Adrien decided to give his kwami a break and let his transformation drop, a bright green light filling the dark room. Marinette blinked and looked up at him, a look he returned a bit wary. What was she going to think, now that she knew who he really was?

Her eyes softened, and placed a warm hand on his cheek. "Adrien… of course it was you…"

That was everything he needed. He tightened his grip on her and buried his head on her hair, relishing just the feel of her. She sighed and relaxed against him, and he could feel her beginning to drift off. Before she fell fully asleep, though, she mumbled again.

"Stay with me, Adrien."

He smiled against her. "As long as you'll have me, my Lady."

And like that, both teens fell asleep.

* * *

As the soft light of the day rose Marinette, she felt warm and cosy. Her body didn't hurt anymore, and there was this smell around her that relaxed her like nothing else had managed before. She sighed against her pillow and squeezed it against her, but, strangely, the pillow returned the gesture and tightened its hold around her.

Drowsy, she opened her eyes slowly and saw the sun kissed skin of a collarbone. She frowned and looked up, just for all her sleepiness to fly out of the window when she saw the sleeping face of one Adrien Agreste just inches from hers.

She wasn't sure how she managed not to squeak; maybe it was because he looked so peaceful with her in his arms – oh god, he has holding her! – his closed eyes and content smile tugging at her heartstrings like crazy, and he felt the temperature of her body raising up. She would've thought she had fever again, but she knew better than that.

Then, hazy memories of the day before began coming to her mind, and she gasped. She remembered going to fight an Akuma, and when she had cleansed the Akuma she… she fainted, didn't she? But the next thing she knew was that she was in her room, and her _Chaton_ was with her. He held her just like Adrien did, and then…

Oh, god. He changed back.

She looked at the boy with new eyes, her heart elated with happiness and awe, and her eyes catalogued every detail of him like it was the first time he really saw him. She raised a hand to mess with his perfect hair, and it stayed limp, buried in those soft locks. Yes, he was totally Chat Noir.

However, her ministrations seemed to wake him up, and he frowned slightly – _and rather cutely,_ she remarked mentally – before his eyes opened. He seemed confused at first, but when he saw Marinette looking back at him, he smiled softly.

He nuzzled his nose against hers. "Good morning, Princess."

"G-good morning." She managed to reply. She cursed her stutter; that was Chat Noir! Don't stutter in front of your partner!

He yawned and her heart gave away. It seemed that the 'Partner' card didn't work on her anymore.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, his lips ghosting on her forehead.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down and smiled at him. "Much better. I slept really well."

His cheeks blushed slightly, making his whole face glow handsomely. Marinette could gaze at him for hours.

"I'm glad. You're really comfy, Buginette." He tightened his grip on her, smiling contently.

She buried her head in his chest. "Are you going to keep calling me all those awful nicknames, silly kitty?"

He chuckled, and his hand began rubbing soothing circles on her back. "Of course. They're my pride and joy, I would be nothing without them. It's almost as bad as if you asked me to use less puns."

"Something I would be grateful for."

"You wound me, my Lady."

Silence fell between them, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. They heard each other heart beating, relishing each other's warmth and simply enjoying the fact of being together.

"You scared me to death when you fell on me like that, Marinette." He mumbled.

"I know. I'm sorry, but I didn't know what else to do. There was an Akuma and I…"

"I understand. But please, tell me next time if you're ill, okay. I can hold the Akuma off until you felt better."

She looked at him and smiled. "I know you can. I will never doubt of your abilities, Chat. I promise I'll tell you when something's wrong, but you have to promise me you will stop blocking blows meant for me with your body. I'm not a delicate doll, Adrien. I won't shatter if someone hits me."

He smirked. "I can promise to try, my Lady."

"You're unbelievable." She tried to huff, but her smile stopped from doing it. She sobered up a bit, her eyes still warm. "Hey, Adrien, I-"

A knock interrupted her, and Sabine's voice came from behind the hatch. "Hey, Marinette. Are you awake? I'm bringing you breakfast."

Both teens looked to each other with wide eyes before they bolted. Adrien jumped to the terrace, Marinette closing the hatch behind him and lying down, feigning that she had just woken up. She saw a black flash phase out to the terrace before her mother came in, a tray in her hands.

"Hello, sweetheart. How are you feeling?"

She sat down on her bed and smiled at her mother. "Much better, _maman_. I think that I'll even be able to go to school tomorrow."

The older woman frowned. She climbed up and placed her hand on her forehead. "That's strange, you don't have a fever anymore. I really thought you had the flu, but you recovering so quickly… I guess it was just a strong cold. Anyway." She handled her the tray. "Here's your breakfast. Do you think you'll be able to have lunch with us?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure of it. You can go back to the shop, _maman_. I can carry the tray downstairs by myself."

Her mother kissed her forehead and left, and after hearing the front door close, Marinette quickly climbed up to her terrace. There it was Chat Noir, leaning casually against the banister, but his bright green eyes watching her every move with reverence. She smiled shyly, soft pink colouring her cheeks, and stood in front of him.

"I never thanked you for staying the night."

He grabbed her hand and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. "I'll stay as long as you want me."

"I feel a bit guilty, though. Will somebody notice you haven't been at home tonight?"

He shook his head. "Don't worry, it's still too early. If I hurry, I'll get home before Natalie sends someone to wake me up."

"Good." She placed a hand on his cheek. She blushed as she muttered her next question. "When will I see you next?"

He rested his forehead in hers and closed his eyes. "Adrien can visit you after school, if you wish. He can be bringing you your homework, and Alya and Nino could come too. We can chat over cookies and play some rounds of UMS III." He paused. "Or…"

"Or…?"

"… or Chat can come tonight, and it will be the two of us." His cheeks flushed, but he threw her a charming smile. "And if my Lady feels generous, we could keep our sleeping arrangements another night. How does that sound?"

She bit her lower lip. "C-can we do both?"

He bowed dramatically. "If that's what my princess desires."

"Perfect." She ran her fingers through his hair, making him shiver slightly. "Have a safe trip, _Chaton_."

He grinned saucily and jumped on the banister, crouching down so he was at the same level as her. He grabbed his baton and extended it a bit, getting ready for the leap.

"I'll see you soon, Princess."

He gave her his two-finger salute and let himself drop backwards, extending his baton. A second later, the black cat superhero was soaring the skies of an awaking Paris, a huge grin on his lips. A blue haired girl watched him go, her cheeks pink but not because of the fever, and a warm smile on his lips.

"Not if I see you first."

* * *

 **I'm not too convinced of the end, but that will do. Leave your thoughts at the reviews section!**


	6. The Butterfly Effect

**Ch 6. The Butterfly effect**

Marinette wasn't sure how it had happened. The only thing she knew was that she had ended up getting a date with Adrien Agreste.

Okay, scratch that. She actually did know how it had happened, but she couldn't believe her luck. She also couldn't believe it had turned out so well.

You see, everything was part of one of Alya's multiple schemes of what she called "making her OTPs canon". They had known for a while that their class was going to get a big assignment for their art class soon; they had two weeks to work with a partner in a painting, where they had to show two different art styles in the same canvas, and that would be half of their score in that subject.

Marinette was actually excited to start that project. She had wanted to test for a while if she could draw something else than clothes, and that was the perfect opportunity for it. Moreover, she was teaming up with Alya, which wasn't very fond of drawing, but also could defend herself with charcoal and paint. They had this.

That was until two days before their teacher announced the theme for their painting.

They were in their classroom, in the little recess between classes. Everyone was talking about their nearing assignment with different excitement. Chloe was in her seat with Sabrina, gloating about the painter that would do the work for her while she got her nails done. Alix and Kim were fighting each other to see who got to pair up with Nathaniel, who had buried his head in his sketchbook in order to avoid any stray hits that might come from the competitive pair. Rose was chatting animatedly with Juleka, expressing how excited she was to see what they needed to draw, while the taller girl just smiled fondly at her excitement.

And Adrien was hunched in his seat, concentrated in the paper in front of him. Marinette couldn't help but sigh at the adorable sight that was Adrien Agreste focusing on something, and she found herself feeling curious about what he was doing. Was he writing another poem, perhaps? She had loved the last one he'd written.

Adrien chose that moment to straighten up, and Nino leaned to his side to look at whatever the blond boy had been scribbling on the paper. Both girls watched Nino's face turn from a frown, to surprise, to an expression torn between horror and amusement.

"Dude."

"I know." Adrien winced.

" _Dude._ "

"What? What is it?" Alya asked beside her. Both boys turned to look at her, and Nino rubbed his neck.

"My bro and I were going to team up for the art project. I'm not very good at drawing, and I had hoped Adrien knew what he was doing, with his father being a top designer, and stuff. Then I asked him if he could draw me something, and…"

Then Nino took the paper lying on the table and handed it to them. Alya grasped it with eager hands, and both girls hunched over the paper, looking at what was drawn on it. Marinette could only describe it as a black blotch with weird appendages, with some colour here and there. To be honest, even some toddlers managed to draw better than this. However, it reminded her of something, but she couldn't quite put a finger on what…

"Oh my god," Alya gasped.

"I know." The blond boy winced in embarrassment. "I'm horrible at drawing."

"Well, everyone has their own Achilles' heel, I guess. You couldn't be perfect in everything you did, sunshine. How have you managed to pass art until now, though?"

He shrugged. "Either we had handiwork projects, which I did just fine, or I paired up with someone that could cover for my… lack of talent. Everything had gone quite okay until now."

Nino put a hand on his shoulder in kindred, and Adrien nodded at him, a moment of comradery going between them. This moment was completely ignored by Alya, who kept on looking at the drawing, tilting the paper slightly and frowning.

"Well… you could say you did an abstract painting, I guess. What even is this black splotch? Is it a cockroach?"

"It has to be a black chair, isn't it, Adrien?"

Marinette shook her head, but no one noticed it. She knew what the drawing represented, she was sure she knew, but her mind failed to give her the answer. It was at the tip of her tongue…. If only she could just-

"Nino, how can you say this is a chair? It has too many legs to be a chair, and I think Adrien knows that too."

The boy shrugged. "it can be one of those modern chairs, you know? With weird shapes and stuff. The other day I saw one chair in Ikea that had three legs, so everything's possible."

"But Nino, this chair would have a leg in the middle of the seat! You wouldn't be able to sit! It's ridiculous! Who wants a chair like this?"

"There's eccentric people everywhere. Remember that exposition we went three weeks ago? It had a chair hanging from the ceiling. Are you going to sit on that chair too?"

"That was art, Nino. Really weird, and completely useless art, but art nonetheless."

"And this drawing falls to the art category, too. It's just a sketch."

Alya rolled her eyes at the boy's insistence. "You're not going to convince me, Nino. This is a cockroach, not a chair."

Marinette's eyebrows furrowed. It wasn't a cockroach. It was-

Adrien called for their attention, looking a bit sheepish. "Actually, it's-"

"A cat!" Marinette exclaimed, hitting the table animatedly. "It has to be a black cat. See? If you squint, you can see the ears on top of its head. The thing you said it was a weird leg is its tail. And this bright spot in the middle is a bell, am I right?" she raised her eyes from the drawing, and saw the three of them startled by her outburst. She started to shrink in herself, feeling self-conscious. "… A-at least, it's what I think."

Adrien's face brightened, and grabbed her hand between his two hands, shaking it excitedly. Marinette felt herself combust.

"That's right! It's a cat." He then looked at Nino and Alya. "See? My drawing skills aren't _that_ bad."

"Well…" escaped from Marinette lips before she could stop herself. She brought her free hand to cover her mouth at the same time that Adrien looked back at him, betrayal with a hint of amusement clear in his face.

"Remind me why am I friends with all of you? Just so you can gang up on me?" he let go of Marinette's hand, and she hid as much as she could the pang of disappointment she felt. He leaned backwards dramatically, sighing. "No one here appreciates my art."

Alya rolled her eyes again, and looked closer at the picture. "I mean, now that Mari said it… I guess I can see it." She handed him back the drawing. "Anyway, I know how Nino draws and, honestly, if you two pair up for this project… you're screwed."

"Wow, dude, thanks for your kind words." Nino huffed.

It was then when Marinette saw it. That glint in Alya's eyes, the one she got when she had an idea but wanted to hide it. The glint she got when she was about to manipulate everyone around her so they ended following her plan without her saying anything about the matter. Marinette shuddered, expecting the worst.

"Say… what if we change partners? Marinette and I can cover for your mistakes this way, and we can manage to get a decent score this way. Nino and I can pair up, and Adrien, you can go with Marinette. After all, she's the only one that could understand your art."

Said girl opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again when Adrien turned to look at her with the most shining, cutest puppy eyes she had ever seen in her life. All her protests flew away from her mind, and she could just stare dumbly at him.

"Would you really pair up with me, Marinette?"

She could only nod dumbly at him. if it was even possible, his smile widened, and Marinette really feared she was going to have a heart attack, considering how fast it was beating.

"Great! So why don't we meet after school and decide what to work on?" Another silent nod. "Then, it's settled. Thank you, Marinette, I really owe you one."

The bell signalling the beginning of the class tolled, and both boys turned ahead. Marinette let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and felt her heart trying to regain its normal pace.

"I guess someone has a date," Alya whispered mischievously. Marinette looked at her doe-eyed.

"I'm meeting Adrien this afternoon. It'll be just the two of us. Alya! What if I mess up?"

She shrugged her shoulders in answer. "I believe in you. You've managed to pull of some crazy stunts under pressure, and it's not the first time it's been just the two of you, right? You _did_ manage to survive the UMS tournament training with him, didn't you?"

"An Akuma kind of interrupted us, but I see your point." She sighed. "I messed up a bit, and I was still a bit too jittery around him, but it was fine, I guess. Maybe… maybe I can do it?"

"I know you can, girl. You'll do great in this totally-not-a-date-just-painting-buddies date, I know it."

Marinette nodded alongside her, feeling her confidence coming back. She could do it. She'd managed to be alone with Adrien before, and this wasn't _that_ different. She'll just need to control her babbling and stutter. Piece of cake.

* * *

When the bell tolled, signalling the end of school, Adrien and she went to their totally-not-a-date-just-painting-buddies date. They decided to go to the park, both of them agreeing that it could be a good place for getting inspiration for their project. So, sketchbook in hand, they sat in one of the park benches, chatting amicably and trying to come up with something to draw.

At first, Marinette had felt jittery and awkward, not sure about how to answer his questions, or how to even articulate correct human speech, but after a while, she got used to it. She began relaxing in his presence, and actually started feeling as herself, her stupid crush on him out of the way.

She made drafts of some flowers, trees and the fountain in front of them, and actually laughed a bit when he showed her his sketches. She immediately apologized for it, but he shook his head in answer, his cheerful smile showing he wasn't annoyed by it.

She was concentrated in her drawing, trying to make her hibiscus look more like the real thing, when Adrien spoke up.

"Hey, isn't this the bench we were sitting on when the Gamer attacked?"

"Huh?" she raised her eyes from the paper and looked around. "Oh, it is! We were having my mum's quiche in here."

"It is! God, your mum's quiche is the best I've had in my life. I'm dying to get a taste of it again."

"Why don't we meet up at my home next time, then? I can ask my mother to prepare some more, if you wish."

"You could do that?"

she nodded. "Yeah, sure."

He grinned. "That would be awesome! Thanks, Mari."

She returned his grin and looked down at the paper. However, she stopped before her pencil touched the paper. Had she… had she invited Adrien to come over? To her home? Without second-guessing, stuttering or making a fool of herself?

She… she actually didn't feel nervous at all. Yeah, sure, she was still head over hills for Adrien, but she didn't feel herself falling apart every time she spoke to him. She raised her gaze to the boy sitting beside her again. He was concentrated on his own sketchbook, his brow scrunched in a tiny frown, and he was tapping his pencil against his lips, trying to come up with something to draw about. She felt her heart speed up at the adorable sight, but her brain didn't turn into pooty.

"Hey, Adrien-"

She saw something from the corner of her eye. Something fluttery and dark, and flying at their direction. All her senses high-lightened, and her instincts brewed in battle kicked in.

"AKUMA!"

They bolted immediately from their seats and leaped behind the bench, putting as much distance as possible between them and the bug. Marinette crouched and reached for her earrings, trying not to lose sight of the threat, and Adrien stood in a guarded position, his eyes never leaving the butterfly, and his right hand clenched tightly.

At this position, she could look at the threat better, which, after a couple of seconds, she regretted she could do. Because in front of them wasn't a dangerous Akuma, no. Instead it was a…

"A… butterfly," she stuttered, "a normal, totally non-threatening butterfly."

Marinette felt her cheeks blaze up in embarrassment. Adrien chuckled breathlessly, running his hand through his perfect hair, making it look puffy and at bit wild.

"Wow, that startled me." He chuckled nervously.

"I-I'll say." She placed a hand on her chest, feeling her fast heartbeat. "That almost gave me a heart attack."

He bumped shoulders with her. "With everything going on, butterflies aren't the same, huh?"

"No, they're not."

Marinette picked up her sketchbook, which she had thrown in her haste to get away from the butterfly. She patted the surface, getting rid of the dirt, and closed it properly.

"Well, I think we've had enough emotions for today, don't you? Maybe we can call it a day."

"Sure. Should we meet at your place next? We could discuss what we're going to do with our project then."

"Sounds good to me. I'll make sure I tell my mother to prepare a quiche."

His face brightened. "You're a godsend, Marinette."

So, after short goodbyes, both teenagers parted ways. The clasp of her purse opened, and Tikki looked at her from the inside, smiling at her.

"Well, this date didn't go as bad as you thought it would, did it?"

"Yeah! There was a point I didn't even feel nervous. Although the butterfly freaked me out a bit."

Tikki nodded. "Remember; you have to be careful, Marinette. I almost thought you were going to transform in front of Adrien. You have to keep your identity secret from everyone. Remember what we said about protecting everyone?"

"I know, Tikki. I wasn't going to transform in front of him, I just wanted to make sure the, well, the butterfly didn't possess him. However, I'll be more careful from now on."

Her kwami nodded proudly at her, and Marinette made her way home, the incident with the butterfly becoming a silly anecdote really fast. However, what Marinette didn't expect was that this silly episode put in motion a series of events that would change her world sooner than she expected.

* * *

After working in their sketches for some days, they decided to meet up at Marinette's house, as promised. They shared ideas back and forth, what surprised Marinette for the lack of nerves from her side. They both finally settled on one design, and they started sketching it on their canvas, Marinette giving Adrien tips on how to draw it better.

After what felt only minutes, her mother opened the hatch of her room with a just made quiche, and Adrien almost dropped his charcoal pencil for the delicious smell. They both decided to take a rest, and placed their pencils and sketchbooks aside to have a well-deserved snack.

Adrien bit into his portion of quiche, managing to stifle a moan just in time. "Marinette, this is amazing."

"I'm glad you like it. My mother was ecstatic when I told her you were coming, and started cooking it even before I told her to."

"I have to thank her later. I had missed her quiche."

Marinette covered her mouth with a hand and giggled. "But you already did, Adrien."

Adrien felt his stomach flutter with something that had nothing to do with the quiche he was eating at the moment.

They fell in a companionable silence, both of them eating their treat. It was strange, Adrien mused, how at ease he felt with the dark-haired girl. Long gone was the painfully shy girl that couldn't speak to him; in her place stood a girl confident in herself, albeit a bit self-conscious sometimes, talented and caring. He didn't know what had struck that change in her, or if it was him the one who had changed instead, but he was glad it'd happen.

His eyes rested on their rough draft. You could see clearly which of the halves was Marinette's; her strokes were delicate and precise, beautiful images resurfacing from soft hands. While his were… well. Better than before, at least.

Which wasn't saying much in his case.

It was then when he noticed it. From the corner of his eye he saw something moving, fluttering around Marinette's room. Something dark, and with a familiar shape.

Without thinking, he grabbed one of the notebooks and threw it at the bug, his heart in his throat. Marinette was startled by the loud sound, and jumped on her seat, immediately on guard. Both of them looked as the bug avoided the notebook, just to flutter by and land on the wall.

"It's a… moth," Marinette muttered, heart racing.

"A… moth," Adrien gaped, his face burning.

There was a stifling silence in the room, until they both burst out laughing. The moth flew out of the room, ignored by both teenagers, which were trying not to cry because of the hilarity of the situation. With aching stomachs and heaving chests, they tried to calm down, bursting in silly giggles when their eyes landed on each other.

"Oh my god, we're a bit too weary of butterflies, aren't we?" Marinette commented, cleaning some stray tears from her eyes.

"We are," Adrien answered, eyes shining with mirth, "Hawk Moth is going to make everyone paranoid. Butterflies will be extinct by the hand of scared Parisians thinking they're going to be Akumatised again."

"Poor little bugs. They've done nothing wrong."

"Well, that's what Ladybug and Chat Noir are here for, isn't it? To defeat Hawk Moth and liberate butterflies from the citizens' paranoia."

They smiled at each other, their minds thinking on their partners, not realising they were sitting beside each other.

Marinette snapped out of her musings, and grabbed their charcoal pencils. She handed one to Adrien. "So, should we resume our work?"

He nodded, grabbing the pencil. "Yeah, let's."

They fell back again into their comfortable silence, working together flawlessly.

* * *

Despite working together most of the afternoon, they didn't manage to finish their assignment. So they decided to meet again, this time at Adrien's home. His father was out of town, preparing an exhibition in Milan, so Adrien was using his chance to show as many friends as he could his home, knowing that was an extraordinary situation.

Marinette took her surroundings calmly, getting a good look on the mansion for the first time. The only times she had been there had been for akuma attacks, so she hadn't had time to dwell on the details.

And oh, wasn't that place gorgeous.

Tall ceilings and stylish decorations greeted her in every room, making the designer in her swoon in delight. She tried to notice as much details as possible, taking in the unique style of one of the most successful designers of Paris. Although the big painting at the main hall was a bit too gloomy for her liking.

They made their way to the kitchen, and prepared some snacks for themselves. Carrying the dishes and two mugs, they made their way to Adrien's room. Just as she stepped in, her eyes directly darted to the door she knew lead to the shower. Trying not to blush at the memory, she let her eyes wander around, remembering the last time she'd been there. But for the sake of her anonymity, she made it seem as if it was the first time she saw it, 'oh'-ing and 'ah'- ing when necessary.

"Your room is so big, Adrien. 5-year-old me would be so jealous. Imagine how huge of a blanket fort you can build here. You could have a huge castle!"

Adrien smiled to himself, the image of an adorable tiny Marinette wearing a pink princess dress in his mind. He'd known his nickname fitted her.

Marinette left her dish and mug on the table, snorting when she caught a glimpse his drawing of a cat. She didn't know he liked his own drawing so much. She stopped to look at his computer screen, which had switched on when she moved his mouse on accident-She looked up at Adrien with a tiny smile on her face, and he was startled to see how similar his mother and Marinette's smiles were. Huh.

"Your room really is amazing, Adrien. It's a shame you can't invite people over normally."

He shrugged, shaking out his thoughts of smiles from his mind. "At least I can invite you guys to come over now, don't I?"

"Yeah."

They grinned at each other, then sat down, nibbling at their treats. Her eyes roamed around, landing on a cardboard box tucked under the table, looking like it was about to burst.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing at the box. Adrien followed the direction where she was pointing to.

"Oh, they're gifts from fans."

"Do you get many of those?" she asked.

He scratched his neck. "Sometimes, mostly in runaways. I haven't had time to go through that box, to be honest."

Now, Marinette knew she couldn't be nosy. Fan gifts were something very personal, and that conveyed their feelings towards their object of admiration. But her eyes kept on trailing on the cardboard box, begging her to open it and dig in. Adrien, noticing her curiosity, couldn't help but chuckle amused.

"Do you want to go through it?"

Marinette faced him, her eyes wide. "N-no! It's your thing! Even though I'm slightly curious I couldn't go through your fans' stuff like that. Moreover, we have to finish our projects and-"

Marinette's ramble was stopped by Adrien's hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with wide doe-like eyes, and Adrien had to stop himself from chuckling at the sight. Or swoon. Either or.

"Marinette, I don't mind. We're almost finished with our project; we can afford slacking off for a bit. Moreover, two hands are better than one, right?"

She shrugged. "I-I guess."

He stood up, and took the box out from under the table. He picked it up with a soft 'oof' and placed it in front of them, opening the lapels. He threw his arms open wide, and she laughed at his theatrics.

"There you have it, Marinette. A box full of secrets for us to dig in."

She shook her head, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Shall we, then?"

So they both dug in. The box was full of little knickknacks, like bracelets, handmade figurines—some of them smashed due to the transportation, and turned into dust—, scrapbooks and letters. She also spotted a Ladybug action figure, and pretended to cleanse a non-existent akuma. Adrien fell off his seat in laughter at that.

After putting on a long pink scarf with mittens in the ends, and Adrien putting on a beanie with cat ears, she took out a really well enveloped package. She looked at the signature, frowning when the only thing she could read was 'Fu', and proceeded to unwrap the present. Her eyes widened when two really good copies of her yoyo and Chat's baton fell on her lap.

"Adrien, look!"

Said boy had just put on a flower crown on top of his beanie when Marinette had called for his attention. He scooped over to where she sat, and his eyes widened at the objects Marinette was holding.

"Whoa." He reached for Chat's baton, twisting it around. He was amazed by the amount of detail it had. "This is amazing. Was there any letter or something to go with it?"

She shook her head. "It was just signed by someone named Fu, or something like that. I couldn't read anything else." She shifted one of the yoyo faces, discovering a pocket mirror underneath. "Look, it's really detailed. Someone put a lot of thought into this."

"I know. Yours is a real yoyo, right? Wait, let me-" he pressed on both ends of his baton, and the toy extended instantly. Adrien couldn't help but smile saucily at it. "This is so cool!"

"I know! I-"

Suddenly, something dark fluttered in the corner of their eyes. Acting instinctively, they pounced, Marinette throwing her yoyo at the threat, while Adrien swung his baton expertly, trying to hit the bug. Marinette's yoyo landed on his table, knocking down a mug full of pencils and pens, while Adrien hit a stack of papers, which flew around the room.

Neither of them said anything when the dark butterfly landed on Adrien's computer screen, her wings fluttering slightly before taking flight again.

Marinette was the first one to react, as her eyes widened in horror at the mess they had made. "Oh my god Adrien, I'm so sorry!"

"No, no, don't worry. We're both at fault." She scratched the back of his head. The flower crown had fallen off his head, and the cat beanie was askew. "We're a bit too edgy with butterflies, aren't we?"

Marinette breathed out. "Yeah. After all, you haven't been akumatised, right?"

"Nope. I don't remember seeing you akumatised either." He looked down at the mess by his feet, and sighed. "I'll better clean up this mess."

Marinette turned to Adrien's table, clearing away all the pens and pencils. So Adrien hadn't been akumatised yet? Well, she would remember if he had, but it had just struck her how strange it was, when almost everyone in their class had been akumatised but them. Considering how stressful his life was, it was a matter of time. She frowned; she'll make sure that doesn't happen.

Her eyes landed on her yoyo, the lid hiding the mirror slightly open. She opened it fully with her fingers, smiling at herself when Adrien's awful cat was reflected on the mirror. How she had guessed it was a cat in the first place, she had no idea.

Until her eyes rested on a painfully familiar spotted drawing.

Marinette untucked the paper from his wall, bringing it closer to her. There it was, Ladybug's signature beside that awful cat. She turned the paper around, and saw the drawing of a better looking cat following a flying ladybug that looked like Tikki.

She remembered the night she had drawn that. She had been sketching on a rooftop after their patrol, waiting for Chat Noir to show up, when he'd jumped on her—that was why there saw a thick black line going from his tail to his paw. After their usual teasing, she had dared him to draw something, and he had used the same paper to draw a cat himself, or at least that was what he said he'd drawn.

The drawing had her doubling over with laughter, and had been grumbling for ten minutes just because of that. As an apology, she drew her signature beside his cat, saying that 'every Chat should have a Ladybug beside him', and he was over the moon for that. He'd asked to keep the drawing, and Ladybug had accepted, thinking she would never see that drawing again.

But she had. And god, despite her initial reticence and Tikki's request, wasn't she ecstatic that she had.

She turned around abruptly, and Adrien was startled out of picking up the sheets, which slipped from his fingers and fell once again to the floor. He had rearranged his beanie, and the fake cat ears rested just at the same spot where his ears would be within costume. Marinette giggled at the sight, not understanding how could she been so stupid to miss all the clues staring at her face.

"What? What is it?"

She showed him the drawing, and laughed harder. "That's why I recognised it! You had shown me your cat the night before."

His eyes went from the drawing to the laughing girl. "What?"

"We've been so stupid!" She covered her forehead, her body still shacking with giggles. "After all this time dancing around each other, and it has to be your drawing that outs you."

He just blinked at her, uncomprehending. "I don't understand."

She smiled excitedly at him. "What I'm trying to say is that you're Chat Noir."

All at once, his body froze and his mind reeled up in panic. How!? How could have she guessed!? He had been really careful with his identity; he had made sure of that? So what could have outed him!? Okay, the cat beanie hadn't been very conspicuous, but it had been both cute and hilarious, and he _had_ to put it on. But that shouldn't have outed him! That was impossible!

He waved his hands in denial, his face falling into his model smile, although he felt it was a bit too crooked to be convincing. "M-Marinette, what are you talking about? I'm not-"

She rolled her eyes and interrupted him. "Chaton, stop it. I know it's you. I drew the other half of this drawing, after all." He looked at her, eyes wide, and she continued. "Then, after you finished drawing your cat, I drew a ladybug, because every Chat should-"

"-have a Ladybug beside him," he muttered, his eyes never leaving her. He took a step forward, ignoring the papers thrown around them. "My… My Lady?"

She reached up and tugged at one of his fake ears. "My Chaton."

He took another step, until they were almost flush against each other. Neither of them flinched at the action. After all, they were already used to the closeness.

Adrien placed a hand on her cheek, and his warmth sent shivers down her spine. "Is that really you?"

"Yup."

Suddenly, he dragged her to him, capturing her lips with his. Marinette had enough time to close her eyes, a soft gasp leaving her lips, and when she was about to answer, he drew back abruptly.

"Sorry!" he blurted out, "I-I wasn't thinking, and- Oh god, I kissed you! I'm sorry, please don't be mad- I just-"

She kissed him to shut him up, and she had her desired result. He looked at her wide eyed, his mouth slightly parted. She felt herself blush at his gaze.

"Y-you can do it again. I don't mind. Well, I do mind. Kiss me?" she winced.

Slowly, a full grin made way to his face, reminding her of his superhero counterpart. His arm sneaked around her waist, and pulled her closer. He rubbed his nose with hers, almost swooning at how she scrunched it up cutely.

"As my Lady desires."

He leaned towards her again, this time deliberately. He noticed how her eyes lidded and her breath quickened, and how her cheeks acquired an adorable pink before their lips joined again. If their first kiss had been frenzy and surprise, this one was sweetness and slowness.

Marinette let her hand trail up his chest to his neck, where her fingers buried into his soft hair. He groaned softly in her mouth, and his grip around her tightened, pulling her flush against him. Suddenly, she could feel his heat surrounding her, his wild heartbeat against her chest. She had never felt safer.

However, it seemed that they wouldn't have a peaceful kiss for a while, as a thought chose to cross her mind right at that moment, and Marinette drew away with a start. Adrien blinked down at her, confused. His tousled hair and reddened lips almost made her forget what had made her stop.

"What? What is it?"

"I can't believe the plan worked!"

"Plan? What plan?" He frowned.

"Alya's plan. It actually made her OTPs canon!"

He shook his head, not understanding one bit of what was going on. It seemed to be something that happened around one Marinette Dupain-Cheng quite often.

"Which plan? And which OTPs?"

"Adrienette and Ladynoir. When she proposed the partners change back then, she was actually trying to set us up. Like, in a date." She snorted. "She actually called it the totally-not-a-date-just-painting-buddies date."

His mouth opened in realisation. " _Oh._ "

Marinette shook her head. It seemed so long since that had happened. She couldn't believe everything that had carried them to that point. "Then all these butterflies' freakouts happened, I found our drawing, we revealed ourselves and… well…"

"We made out."

She nodded. "We made out."

He ran a hand through his hair. "So, are you telling me that we are together thanks to one of Alya's half-baked plans and three stupid butterflies?"

"Yep."

He guffawed. "Man, if I'd known it would work, I'd have tried sooner."

Marinette hit his arm playfully, then scratched his nape, earning a soft purr of appreciation. "Now, I think we were in the middle of something?"

Adrien smirked, and tightened his hold around her. "Yeah, I think we were."

She leaned in, but kissed his nose instead, then weaselled out of his arms. "That's right! We have to finish our project. I think we've put it off for too long already, right?"

She put some distance between them, smiling challengingly at him. Understanding instantly what she wanted, he started chasing her around the room, then the whole house, quickly becoming a game of hide and seek. The house filled with loud laughter and cheers, and when night came, the stars twinkled brighter than ever, the only witnesses of Paris' superheroes dancing on the rooftops.


End file.
